Pleasure Day Alders Farm 28.05.2019 Ash Lake

All my plans were scuppered this week with cancelling a bream session at short notice due to a charity match on Black Horse Lake all over the Bank Holiday weekend and the regular Tuesday Openat Alders Farm moving to the Monday to cater for all those with the extra day off. Still it gave both Mick and I the chance of a practice session.

Arranging to meet at 0800 at the venue, we had a chat with Trevor Price in the shop and managed to put the world to rights. We decided on a couple of swims on Ash Lake pegs 5 and 6. Mick on 5 myself on 6. Mick wanted to play around with the pellet waggler and with the island in front of him he had the ideal opportunity.
I wanted to play around fishing shallow, something I have little confidence in. I am getting better with each session but practice, practice and more practice is needed.I also set up a corn line for two plus two, just in case.
I decided on a line at 12m, I could hold the pole in the breeze which was pushing right to left, and felt if the fish dropped off I could add another section if needed. I set up two rigs, one a Drennan Crystal dibber float, with a small bulk of number 8 stotz above a size 16 KKM hook.The other a Drennan Crystal bristle float. with the shot under the float and a single number 8 stotz dropper, this time to a hand tied banded hooklength and size 18 B911F1 hook. Both rigs were set up on white hydro.
The shorter 2+2 line was a MW Hi Viz Margin float .3g to a .15 hooklength, size 16 KKM hook. Coupled with .19 Guru NGuage  and green KND. elastic.
I fed a couple of small handfulls of corn onto the 5m line and left it alone. I pinged around a dozen 4mm fishery pellets out to 11m and placed my rig just past it. lifting and dropping saw my first bite after around 10 minutes, A small carp around the 1lb mark before a few better samples fishing at 2ft deep, however I was missing a lot of bites, chopping and changing the depth, worked with a plan of three missed bites and change the depth, by following this rule I was soon in a rhythm and catching well with fish to 3lb coming regularly.
Mick was getting a few fish on an 8mm pellet but did better with a 6mm pellet. feeding fishery 4mms. He was even getting a few from the margins on the pellet waggler, how he does it amazes me.
I spent around 30 minutes on the 2+2 line with corn feeding it quite heavily, with good results, fish to 5lb but suffered a few foul hookers along the way.
Going back out to 12m, I restarted the line, pinging around a dozen pellets every 30 seconds kept fish interested and I was catching well. Trevor had come down for a chat and one of the conversations centred around pole elastics and I was saying I had snapped one today, five minutes later another one had gone. two white hydros snapped during a single session for no apparent reason. I must admit though they had been in the pole for a while and caught plenty of fish along the way. I grabbed another top kit with the green KND and gave that a go for the remainder of the session with no ill effects. I even tried a grain of corn over the pellets with plenty of bites but only one fish. Something I perhaps would not have tried as I was busy catching well. A reminder that a practice session should not be a match against yourself, there is a need to try different things even though you are catching.
At the end of the day I had caught well, lots of fish and well over a ton from a good peg. Mick had fared not so well, he had caught and had a day's fishing, but he had tried something different and learnt a few things.
Next match is on Saturday at Hartleylands Farm Peartree Lake. Hopefully I will have learnt a few things from some recent errors of judgement.

Marsh AC Coleman's Cottage 11.05.2019

Another day out and about. This time to one of the Essex waters, Coleman's Cottage on the outskirts of Witham. It was Mick's turn to drive and with it being fairly close to us, we got a lie in. Still leaving the house at 0630 still seems late as it is normally 0500 on a working day.
No issues with either the M1, M25 and A12 saw us pulling into the car park at Coleman's at 0800 to be greeted by quite a few cars. A lot of which I did not recognise. Still there are 4 lakes on site, so perhaps they were on one of the others. Nope, both clubs were on Wood Lake.
A couple of number 2 full English breakfasts were soon devoured by Mick and I followed by a couple of cups of Rosie. The draw meant that we had pegs 1-25 along the left hand bank and the bowl. Any peg in the main arm would suit me or just along barbel alley. The main bowl has never really produced on the times we have fished it. Weather was raining and planned to get worse as the day wore on, stopping around the time we did. How often does that happen?
At the draw, Mick had drawn well along barbel alley, there are some great margins with plenty of depth in front.

The view from peg 12 Barbel Alley

My turn and peg 20 on the far bank of the bowl, not a good area to be fair. I have only seen one good weight from it, Mick a few years ago but the wind was blowing strong into it that day.
For company I had Chris T on 22, John on 23, Foxy celebrating his 50th Birthday on 25 with Kris and Simon on 19 and 17 respectively.

Foxy celebrating his 50th

Kris ready for the off

I could see Mick on his peg 12 so would be able to keep an eye on him.
My plan was simple, start off at 2 plus 2(5m) feeding 4mms fishing 6s and 8s, pinging a few 6mms to 12m and fishing 6mms up and down accordingly, A couple of margins, one for corn the other for 8mms.
With so many people on the lake I decided to start off slow with the feed, only feeding via a toss pot and then not always a full pot. A couple of small carp in the first hour for around 6lb but it was slow everywhere. The second hour saw plenty of swapping and changing of lines, rigs, hooklengths etc. All to no avail. By the end of the second hour I was still on the original two fish.
Kris next door had snagged a better carp for around 8lb but still had only the one bite and fish. Foxy opposite was nicking odd fish on what looked like 6mms again via a toss pot, lifting and dropping, John seemed to be struggling in the corner whilst Chris T was picking off a few carp from his margins. Elsewhere only odd fish could be seen being caught.
I made a decision to feed one of the margins with 4mms and placed a good pot around a foot from the bank to my right hand side. Another pot of corn followed to the tree, as I felt it could still be won if the fish came in but it may be late in the session.
The rain was now incessant, the wind was getting up and the temperature dropping like a stone. Any sunshine was not making it through the canopy of branches from the overhanging trees. Next thing was to look round and see the corn line trashed, the wind had blown the tree I was feeding fall over. I wont say up rooted because on closer inspection it looked as if it was propped up.

" It wasn't me Guv'ner"

Still plugging away on the 5m line, I was getting a few indications but suspect they were from roach pecking at the 8mm pellet, occasionally it would bury and a carp or f1 would be attached, but they were small by comparison.Kris had put the pole away and had set up a bomb rod to fish to the lily pads in front of him. 4 good fish in 4 put ins proved the correct decision and took him into a potential match winner. Running out of Tbags saw him back onto the pole where he also connected to a margin munter. He was still pinging the lily pads and would nick a couple more before the end of the match.
With an hour to go I could see fish hovering up the 4mms to the right hand margin but placing a 6mm on the hook meant nothing to them, an 8mm went the same route and in hindsight I think they were preoccupied on the 4mms and the sinking liquid I placed on it. Still very frustrating seeing fish and unable to convince them to take a bait. A couple of 5m fish came before the end leaving me very frustrated. Packing up I walked around to Mick, he was admitting to 40lb, maybe a little more, so the MK Nugget was his again.
Overall
1st Kris Old                        44-00
2nd Chris Thomas               41-00
3rd Mark Fox                     39-00
4th Terry Goff                     38-00
5th Mick Wright                  37-00
6th Josh Donovan               35-08

Tony's four fish for 25lb

My weight of 23lb was a disappointment for me. I went in with a positive attitude and had a plan, which flexed throughout the day. A couple of fish here and there would have made a difference but then everyone could have said the same. In reality there was nothing between us all. A run of fish could have made a big difference on the day. Well done to those who framed and the section winners. Mick leads 5-2 in the nugget stakes with a rest day next week before we start a few matches at Alders Farm before we go to Todber Manor in June.

Pleasure Day Toft Lakes 05.05.2019

No matches this week, so both Mick and I decided on a venue change for a Friday Fish in. We had been out and about before and regularly travel to venues that hold both match sized carp, larger specimens and even have days where the tip is the order of the day in the hope of some good bream.
Today, would see us grace the banks of Toft Lakes, two lakes on the outskirts of Dunchurch, Warwickshire. One is a carp water, the other a silvers venue. We planned to fish the carp lake. Also with us was another CCEP employee in Chris Bird, a dedicated specimen angler, who fancied a change before for a week long escapade to the French Specimen Lakes. Also a good friend who we met up with via CCEP in Bryan Johnson, a former lorry driver who has effortlessly slipped into retirement.
We all descended on the lake for 8am and as Chris had arrived first he was already tackling up in one of the near pegs. Mick fancied one in the corner, whilst both Bryan and I slotted in between them.
As there was no time limit to the day, I decided on a Pellet Waggler approach to the island, a 2+2 line in around 5ft of water, and a margin line to my right at top 2 plus three. Bait would be corn and 8mm pellet.
I spent the start of the session showing Mick how to set up his pole rollers to enable him to fish long. The whole point focusing on being comfortable in both shipping in and out and positioning the pole across the legs to take some of the strain out of the fishing. With this out of the way I was free to start fishing.
Pinging out a few 8mm pellets to within a foot of the island I was able to cast out and clip up. Out goes the Drake waggler set at 2ft deep followed by 3 8mms and the float goes under. a good 6lb fish in the net straight away. A few more chucks, and nothing, I could not believe it, Fishing either side of a protruding tree on the island was soon a recipe for disaster and before long I was trying to drag the island closer. This was only going to end one way and the line soon parted leaving my prized Drake hanging in the tree.
I put the rod down and picked up the margin rig. I had fed a pot of corn and pellet at the start and saw a couple of tails over it. Pushing the rig just past it I was soon attached to a zoo creature, unfortunately no sooner as I was connected it was soon off, out again and the same thing, slackening off the blue KND elastic, helped as the next fish was landed and around 12lb. The strange thing is that you hook them in the margin in 2ft of water, the fish then go down in the water( into 5ft of water) once you get them away from the catch zone. Then you need to get them up again. Very arm aching. I worked out the best way to feed was via a toss pot and not the cupping kit. A mix of corn and 8mms kept the fish interested without getting too many in the peg. The corn would get the silvers working in the peg and when you stopped getting indications from them a carp would show up.
Chris was getting a few fish on both the pellet waggler and 2 plus 2 line feeding and fishing 6mm pellets. He kept looking to his left hand edge to no avail. Bryan was struggling, pinning all his hopes on paste at 11m, a couple of carp had succumbed but his mix was getting ragged out by silvers. Mick was doing what Mick always does, catch fish 2 plus 2 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock one side pellet other side meat. In the early part of the session meat was working well, but this was slowing and it was soon time for 6mm pellets. I did observe Mick putting his coaching to good effect, Twenty minutes and a single fish on the long 12.5m pole may not seem a lot, but the trauma we have had getting there. Shipping in and out like someone who was used to it.
A couple of looks on to the 5m line saw a couple of bites including a couple of small mirror carp around the 6oz mark before the float buries properly and another 10lb fish was on the end of the line. I then had a spell of foul hooked fish. I was getting a few iffy bites, little dinks and not taking the float under. I would strike and foul hook a fish. Plenty of gudgeon and roach fell this way but if the float went under it was a carp. Sometimes hooked in the mouth, other times the tail.
At the close of play, I had 13 fish averaging 8lb each, a couple of low to mid doubles and the solitary 6lb PW fish first put in. Others had caught more, both Chris and Mick but their's was not as big on average, so it would be close if it was a match. Bryan had struggled but it was good to see him in good spirits and health.
I have learnt a bit about the elastic and gained a confidence boost of how to feed 8mm pellets to take into my next encounters.
As it was a pleasure day and no nets there was no MK Nugget at stake, this will be resumed next Saturday at Colemans Cottage.