Not only did I lose a nugget last time out to Mick, I fished like an absolute idiot, in hindsight. I got it all wrong right from the off and never looked like catching a few. Still today is another day.
Last Tuesday's match was on Oaks Lake and today was no different. Ten hardy souls braved the cool winter weather but at least the rain would hold off. It was fresh but not too bad for the time of year.
With monies paid, and the peg numbers sorted I was hoping for a repeat of last weeks dr aw where peg 1 was my home if not a draw from 6 to 9 would be good. However, peg 3 was to be my home for the next five hours. I had Dennis on 4 and Del Smith on 2 with Charlie Lancaster on the flyer peg 1. John Hewison was on 5 with Terry Lancaster on 6, Madd (7) Ken on peg 8 and Lee Taylor on 9. Trevor had end peg 10 and would be hard to beat from his favourite peg on the complex.
I decided to forget about margin fishing and catch what was in front of me for five hours. I pulled a deep rig from my box and found that at 11m it would sit nicely. A similar approach found 9m to my left hand line and with 4ft on my right hand swim I was set. I opted to fish expander to my left and corn to the right leaving me to fish maggot or expander on the long 11m line.
I fed both the right and 11m line with micros with a few grains of corn or expander in the mix, whilst the left hand swim was fed with ground bait and expanders.
Starting off on the 11m line I was soon into a steady procession of small carp. Nothing over a pound but I was catching a few. I was feeding a tosspot every put in with 4 maggots and a pinch of micros and this seemed to be working as after an hour I reckoned on around 15lb. I could hear Charlie catching well down the edge and proper fish too. Lee Taylor was getting a few fish from the island on the tip. Madd had snared a good carp and was getting a few fish but not regularly. It was head down time. Hours two and three were steady apart from a spell in the middle where I only had two fish in around half an hour's fishing.
I re-fed this line with a half pot of micros and maggot/expander mix and tried both the side lines, with only 2 fish to show for 20 minutes. Still nothing over a pound came to the net but the float was going under. Back to 11m and a switch to expander brought a few skimmers before again the small carp returned and pushed them out. Going into the last hour I had 50lb and hoped a few of the larger fish would come in over this line, I had fed it religiously every put in and placed a grain of corn on the hook, but still the small carp came. Maggot was probably best bait on the day with Almond Expanders a close second.
Overall
1st Trevor Price 159-15
2nd Charlie Lancaster 146-05
3rd Lee Taylor 84-03
4th Keith Ashby 61-11
5th Del Smith 49-05
6th Phil "Madd" Young 47-01
Personally I think I fished it right today and walked away thinking I could not have done anything different. I caught what was in front of me which was my aim. It would have been nice if a few of the larger specimens had come out to play but you cannot have everything. Shame Mick is never here when I fish well.
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Saturday, 15 November 2014
Oakfield Open 12 11 14
A lot of you will know that the MK Nugget is contested by Mick Wright and myself over the course of a year. All was fine until I was asked to swap shifts in July. It meant our normal matches were curtailed and we had to plan in advance our matches. Today was one of these matches. Not at one of our normal haunts but it made a nice change to pop over to Oakfield Fishery near Aylesbury.
Mick had agreed to pick me up in return for a breakfast and to avoid the queues around the roadworks at Buckingham we set off around 0645. We arrived nice and early for the draw but breakfast took up some of the time.
At the draw we were told there would be 14 fishing so they would split the match over both Red Kite and Swallow lakes. I was hoping for a peg on Swallow but I ended up on Peg 8 on Red Kite, with Mick on the end peg on our bank,18.
The wind would be tricky today, It was blowing directly into our faces and coupled with rain, it was obvious that I would be getting wet today. I do not like umbrellas.
I decided to fish a line at 12m with expander or hard pellet, A line at 5m with corn and a margin line to the pallet on peg 7 for a maggot approach.
The strange thing I noticed was that there was very little tow on the water and I could easily use a MW Diamond in 5ft of water. Hooklength's were .13 to a size 18 B911. For the 5m line I used a similar float in .3g for 3ft of water to a size 16 PR36 fished direct. Margin line was .18 Stroft and a NG Mini Diamond to a size 16 PR36.
At the all in I potted in a pot of small balls of micros on each line followed by a half pot of the intended hookbait for each swim.
Starting off at 12m I missed my first bite after 5minutes but was soon into my first f1 around 2lb, next put in and another followed after a couple of minutes wait. Then nothing. I re-fed and tried the 5m line. Nothing and 20 minutes wasted. A quick look down the side on maggot and no indications or bites. Back out to 12m and nothing. Switching from expander to hard pellet made no difference, indeed the only thing I could get a bite on was maggot and a small skimmer and a gudgeon were placed in the net. That was my match. I could not get a bite on anything bar maggot and these were only small blades, no carp or f1s. To say I was disappointed was an under estimation. I had looked forward to this match and felt gutted that I had let this one slip.
Mick had also struggled but had persevered on a top three line for 12lb to comfortably beat me for the nugget, making it 12-11 in my favour with one match left to go.
Mick had agreed to pick me up in return for a breakfast and to avoid the queues around the roadworks at Buckingham we set off around 0645. We arrived nice and early for the draw but breakfast took up some of the time.
At the draw we were told there would be 14 fishing so they would split the match over both Red Kite and Swallow lakes. I was hoping for a peg on Swallow but I ended up on Peg 8 on Red Kite, with Mick on the end peg on our bank,18.
The wind would be tricky today, It was blowing directly into our faces and coupled with rain, it was obvious that I would be getting wet today. I do not like umbrellas.
I decided to fish a line at 12m with expander or hard pellet, A line at 5m with corn and a margin line to the pallet on peg 7 for a maggot approach.
The strange thing I noticed was that there was very little tow on the water and I could easily use a MW Diamond in 5ft of water. Hooklength's were .13 to a size 18 B911. For the 5m line I used a similar float in .3g for 3ft of water to a size 16 PR36 fished direct. Margin line was .18 Stroft and a NG Mini Diamond to a size 16 PR36.
At the all in I potted in a pot of small balls of micros on each line followed by a half pot of the intended hookbait for each swim.
Starting off at 12m I missed my first bite after 5minutes but was soon into my first f1 around 2lb, next put in and another followed after a couple of minutes wait. Then nothing. I re-fed and tried the 5m line. Nothing and 20 minutes wasted. A quick look down the side on maggot and no indications or bites. Back out to 12m and nothing. Switching from expander to hard pellet made no difference, indeed the only thing I could get a bite on was maggot and a small skimmer and a gudgeon were placed in the net. That was my match. I could not get a bite on anything bar maggot and these were only small blades, no carp or f1s. To say I was disappointed was an under estimation. I had looked forward to this match and felt gutted that I had let this one slip.
Mick had also struggled but had persevered on a top three line for 12lb to comfortably beat me for the nugget, making it 12-11 in my favour with one match left to go.
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Alders Farm Oaks Lake 11 11 14
I always try to support my local fishery Alders Farm when I can and if shifts at work allow I always book into the regular Tuesday Opens. Not only are they normally well attended but are spread out across the fishery. To be honest, it would do my head in if it was on the same lake week in week out. Last week I suffered on peg 21 on the match lake and was hoping my drawing arm improved this week.
There were 8 of us fishing this week and as always it was nice and friendly, something else I enjoy, it was pegged 4 on each side of Oaks Lake. Charlie pegged it out whilst Trevor was sorting out bait, etc. I collected the monies and with everyone paid up it was draw time. I fancied a peg in the trees. That had been kind in the past and with a bit of wind on it, I really fancied it. However, peg 1 stuck to my hand and I was still pleased even though I was on the wrong bank. Peg 1 is the first peg on the lake with overhanging trees into the water at 10m to the left. It normally holds some carp, but it often depends on whether you can get them out. I also set up to fish at 12m straight out but would only go over it if the wind dropped enough to control the pole. I also plumbed a line at 2+2 where I could get out of the wind but was doubtful any skimmers or carp would venture so close as the water was fairly clear.
At the all in I cupped a pot of micros to 12m and top 4 lines and a mixed pot of micro and corn to the tree at 10m. With the wind dropped I thought it best to have a go long whilst I could. After 10 minutes and nothing to show for it I re-fed the line and dropped in close. I had a couple of small carp on expander coated with pineapple Gellit before it went quiet. Time to look to the tree. Six put ins saw six Rudd, a switch to a bulk rig fished dead depth with stinky corn saw a procession of carp to around 3lb. I was know catching well and after 2 hours put another net in as I thought I might need it. I reckoned on 50lb in that net and was going well. With a third net in, I started to put a few fish in before it went quiet. I re-fed again and switched out to 12m. A couple of 5lb fish on this line boosted an already decent weight. However it never lasted and I was waiting too long for a bite, albeit better fish. I could catch smaller fish quicker and hoped that I could catch enough from the 10m tree line to see me over the line.
I could see Charlie catching from peg 8 opposite and Terry was getting a mix of carp and Skimmers so was hard to judge. Trevor is a fish so I knew he would be there or thereabouts. John next door on peg 2 had secured a personal best carp in the region of 15lb and was elated to have done this in his first match.
I found that by fishing out a bit further from the tree line I was still getting bites but was struggling to hit them. I did not think the fish were up in the water because I tried this a couple of times for nothing. I kept plugging away and hoped for a good last hour however it was not to be and only four fish came to the net.
Overall
1st Charlie Lancaster 127-10
2nd Keith Ashby 113-00
3rd Terry Lancaster 77-12
4th Hugh Crawford 77-00
5th Nick Rowe 73-00
6th Trevor Price 67-15
I feel after this match that I fished it about right today, I only lost one fish all day and that was from the 12m. I am not sure that micros were the right thing for down the side but it is certainly something I can work on over the next few months.
There were 8 of us fishing this week and as always it was nice and friendly, something else I enjoy, it was pegged 4 on each side of Oaks Lake. Charlie pegged it out whilst Trevor was sorting out bait, etc. I collected the monies and with everyone paid up it was draw time. I fancied a peg in the trees. That had been kind in the past and with a bit of wind on it, I really fancied it. However, peg 1 stuck to my hand and I was still pleased even though I was on the wrong bank. Peg 1 is the first peg on the lake with overhanging trees into the water at 10m to the left. It normally holds some carp, but it often depends on whether you can get them out. I also set up to fish at 12m straight out but would only go over it if the wind dropped enough to control the pole. I also plumbed a line at 2+2 where I could get out of the wind but was doubtful any skimmers or carp would venture so close as the water was fairly clear.
At the all in I cupped a pot of micros to 12m and top 4 lines and a mixed pot of micro and corn to the tree at 10m. With the wind dropped I thought it best to have a go long whilst I could. After 10 minutes and nothing to show for it I re-fed the line and dropped in close. I had a couple of small carp on expander coated with pineapple Gellit before it went quiet. Time to look to the tree. Six put ins saw six Rudd, a switch to a bulk rig fished dead depth with stinky corn saw a procession of carp to around 3lb. I was know catching well and after 2 hours put another net in as I thought I might need it. I reckoned on 50lb in that net and was going well. With a third net in, I started to put a few fish in before it went quiet. I re-fed again and switched out to 12m. A couple of 5lb fish on this line boosted an already decent weight. However it never lasted and I was waiting too long for a bite, albeit better fish. I could catch smaller fish quicker and hoped that I could catch enough from the 10m tree line to see me over the line.
I could see Charlie catching from peg 8 opposite and Terry was getting a mix of carp and Skimmers so was hard to judge. Trevor is a fish so I knew he would be there or thereabouts. John next door on peg 2 had secured a personal best carp in the region of 15lb and was elated to have done this in his first match.
I found that by fishing out a bit further from the tree line I was still getting bites but was struggling to hit them. I did not think the fish were up in the water because I tried this a couple of times for nothing. I kept plugging away and hoped for a good last hour however it was not to be and only four fish came to the net.
Overall
1st Charlie Lancaster 127-10
2nd Keith Ashby 113-00
3rd Terry Lancaster 77-12
4th Hugh Crawford 77-00
5th Nick Rowe 73-00
6th Trevor Price 67-15
I feel after this match that I fished it about right today, I only lost one fish all day and that was from the 12m. I am not sure that micros were the right thing for down the side but it is certainly something I can work on over the next few months.
Tuesday, 4 November 2014
Alders Farm Ash Lake 04 11 14
My first venture to Alders for a few weeks and I was biting at the bit to get amongst the resident carp and have a decent day where the float kept going under. However, the weather gods had decided a different day was to be had. I awoke to the first frost of the year, never a good sign, with a plan to rain between 2pm and 4pm.
I made my way through the daily commute and pulled into the fishery to be greeted by Lewis, the new fishery owner, who explained some of his plans for the future. Allowing youngsters on the fishery, improvements already made to the café and a far bit of TLC to the lakes and surrounding areas. It certainly all fits into his plan of having coaching days for both adults and youngsters, linking up with local schools and clubs who will thrive on the first hand knowledge available from the team at Alders.
As I said earlier I had not been to Alders for a while and the only information I could glean was from the recent winter league matches. It seemed to be a maggot/ground-bait combination or a pellet approach which was doing all the damage. But, I fancied a day on the corn and set my stall out accordingly. I was pegged on peg 21 on the dam wall and had 3ft at a top three and was confident I could get them going if they were there. I also set a couple of margin rigs up to fish the pallets either side, one with pellet, the other corn.
I had Madd for company on peg 23 who would be fishing pellet or maggot throughout. At the all in I potted a half pot of corn and pellet to my left and a full pot of pellet to the platform to my right. I threw a few grains of corn to the top three line and lowered a pineapple "gellited" corn with no immediate bites. After 5 minutes I was starting to get indications but they were minute twitches of the float. A few alterations to the shotting pattern and I was soon into my first fish, a common around 2lb. His brother soon followed and after an hour I had around 8 fish. Not the start I wanted but hopefully as the sun came up and warmed the water, things would improve. Hour two was also slow and by the end of the hour I was reaching for the margin rigs. One fish from the right hand edge, and I was back out to top three.
I could see Vic, who was celebrating his 57th birthday, or as he says 19 again and again, catching from peg 5 whilst Charlie was getting a few from peg 7. Madd was starting to get a few close to the platform on 24, after a slow start and Dell Smith on 26 was also amongst them. I must also say that the banter was second to none with nearly everyone contributing to a game of Popquiz at some stage of another and Terry Lancaster singing along to Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.
Hour three and four improved a little bringing my total to 45 fish and around a ton. I decided to have a proper look down the edge in the last hour, partly due to seeing a few tails in the pegs but also because I was going no where on the top three line. The first 10 minutes were quiet before the float dipped and a 5lb fish was in the net, I re-fed and again waited for 10 minutes before another 5lb fish. A couple more followed and I estimated I had around 150lb. I ended up just a little short on 143-11 for nowhere, but was glad to blow the cobwebs off and see the float go under.
I made my way through the daily commute and pulled into the fishery to be greeted by Lewis, the new fishery owner, who explained some of his plans for the future. Allowing youngsters on the fishery, improvements already made to the café and a far bit of TLC to the lakes and surrounding areas. It certainly all fits into his plan of having coaching days for both adults and youngsters, linking up with local schools and clubs who will thrive on the first hand knowledge available from the team at Alders.
As I said earlier I had not been to Alders for a while and the only information I could glean was from the recent winter league matches. It seemed to be a maggot/ground-bait combination or a pellet approach which was doing all the damage. But, I fancied a day on the corn and set my stall out accordingly. I was pegged on peg 21 on the dam wall and had 3ft at a top three and was confident I could get them going if they were there. I also set a couple of margin rigs up to fish the pallets either side, one with pellet, the other corn.
I had Madd for company on peg 23 who would be fishing pellet or maggot throughout. At the all in I potted a half pot of corn and pellet to my left and a full pot of pellet to the platform to my right. I threw a few grains of corn to the top three line and lowered a pineapple "gellited" corn with no immediate bites. After 5 minutes I was starting to get indications but they were minute twitches of the float. A few alterations to the shotting pattern and I was soon into my first fish, a common around 2lb. His brother soon followed and after an hour I had around 8 fish. Not the start I wanted but hopefully as the sun came up and warmed the water, things would improve. Hour two was also slow and by the end of the hour I was reaching for the margin rigs. One fish from the right hand edge, and I was back out to top three.
I could see Vic, who was celebrating his 57th birthday, or as he says 19 again and again, catching from peg 5 whilst Charlie was getting a few from peg 7. Madd was starting to get a few close to the platform on 24, after a slow start and Dell Smith on 26 was also amongst them. I must also say that the banter was second to none with nearly everyone contributing to a game of Popquiz at some stage of another and Terry Lancaster singing along to Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.
Hour three and four improved a little bringing my total to 45 fish and around a ton. I decided to have a proper look down the edge in the last hour, partly due to seeing a few tails in the pegs but also because I was going no where on the top three line. The first 10 minutes were quiet before the float dipped and a 5lb fish was in the net, I re-fed and again waited for 10 minutes before another 5lb fish. A couple more followed and I estimated I had around 150lb. I ended up just a little short on 143-11 for nowhere, but was glad to blow the cobwebs off and see the float go under.
Overall
1st Colin Spencer 337-0
2nd Dell Smith 268-13
3rd Charlie Lancaster 213-14
4th Trevor Price 210-0
5th Vic Nugent 204-12
6th Terry Lancaster 188-06
Good to be back at Alders and I will be back next week as my shifts fall nicely.
Monday, 27 October 2014
Claygate Eva Marsh AC 25 10 14
New Claygate Lakes was the venue for the last match of the Marsh AC season (apart from the Xmas match) and I was lying in second position behind travelling partner and work colleague Mick. Clive who was sitting in third position was unable to make today so it was a shoot out between the two of us.
A good trip down with Troy taking his van and both Mick and I contributing to his breakfast and dinner, we made good time and pulled into Monks Lake fishery for the first of the commitments(brekkie), in good time. Its only 10 minutes away from Claygate and a good stopping off point.
We had most of the lake today and I was hoping for a peg with plenty of open water, however I had drawn end peg and knew it was over before I had even wet a line. Peg 37 is in a corner and I knew it would be feast or famine, no wind blowing in or signs of life let alone fish, but it was what was in the hat and someone had to get it. Mick had drawn well on 33 with open water and a gap between two islands and a decent clean margin. Troy had also drawn in a good area on 6 on the railway straight.
Before the start Tony W was getting ready, plumbing up as you do, shipping back his pole along the railway bank. Next thing he knew was a loud bang and a broken section. A train had passed by and nicked his last section, causing no damage but the following movement of the pole snapped another section with a whiplash effect. With it telescoped he could continue but he was a very lucky man as 750 live volts could have had a far lasting effect on him. When will people learn electricity and carbon do not mix.
I opted to fish 4 lines today, with the resident f1's and carp the target species. I had a line at 11m to my left edge, a line at 14m tight to the far bank, 12m to my right at 2 o'clock at the bottom of the shelf and a top four line directly in front. I had good depth on all lines and felt that feeding 4mm GOT Sinkers and fishing either a 6mm banded pellet or expander would account for anything that swam. I also had a tin of corn as a back up.
I started off fishing top four and after an hour only had one f1 from this line around 12oz and no other bites. I had rotated my lines during this spell and it was evident that there were no fish in the peg. No bites, no liners, nothing. Changes to shotting patterns made no difference. I set up a shallow rig and even tried that to no avail. Nothing was working.It was fishing hard and I could see the colour dropping out of the margins. In fact I dropped some pellets next to my keepnet and although I could not see them at the start they were still there clear as day in 2ft of water at the end.
Simon W on 35 had started well fishing tight across and had a couple of f1's before he managed to break his no.6 section adjusting his pole roller. Not a good day for the Watkin Brothers. Mick was plugging away and doing far better than I.
To cut a six hour story short, I managed four bites during the match and four fish for a grand total of 6lb something and with 20 minutes left started packing up. It really was a famine peg but we all stick our hand into the pot and should try to make the most of what is in front of us. At no point did I give up as a run of fish can easily change things around. Many matches I have come back in the last hour of a match but alas today was not one of them. Not the way I would have liked the season to end, but that's fishing.
Mick finished with 33lb to pip Troy with 32lb.
Congratulations to Mick on winning the Marsh AC League for 2014. Another MK Nugget in his pocket and he has managed to claw his way back into a very close finish to the year. 12-10 to me having been 12-6 in front(ooppss) with 2 matches left.
Well done to all the section winners and I look forward to seeing you all on the Xmas Match.
A good trip down with Troy taking his van and both Mick and I contributing to his breakfast and dinner, we made good time and pulled into Monks Lake fishery for the first of the commitments(brekkie), in good time. Its only 10 minutes away from Claygate and a good stopping off point.
We had most of the lake today and I was hoping for a peg with plenty of open water, however I had drawn end peg and knew it was over before I had even wet a line. Peg 37 is in a corner and I knew it would be feast or famine, no wind blowing in or signs of life let alone fish, but it was what was in the hat and someone had to get it. Mick had drawn well on 33 with open water and a gap between two islands and a decent clean margin. Troy had also drawn in a good area on 6 on the railway straight.
Before the start Tony W was getting ready, plumbing up as you do, shipping back his pole along the railway bank. Next thing he knew was a loud bang and a broken section. A train had passed by and nicked his last section, causing no damage but the following movement of the pole snapped another section with a whiplash effect. With it telescoped he could continue but he was a very lucky man as 750 live volts could have had a far lasting effect on him. When will people learn electricity and carbon do not mix.
I opted to fish 4 lines today, with the resident f1's and carp the target species. I had a line at 11m to my left edge, a line at 14m tight to the far bank, 12m to my right at 2 o'clock at the bottom of the shelf and a top four line directly in front. I had good depth on all lines and felt that feeding 4mm GOT Sinkers and fishing either a 6mm banded pellet or expander would account for anything that swam. I also had a tin of corn as a back up.
I started off fishing top four and after an hour only had one f1 from this line around 12oz and no other bites. I had rotated my lines during this spell and it was evident that there were no fish in the peg. No bites, no liners, nothing. Changes to shotting patterns made no difference. I set up a shallow rig and even tried that to no avail. Nothing was working.It was fishing hard and I could see the colour dropping out of the margins. In fact I dropped some pellets next to my keepnet and although I could not see them at the start they were still there clear as day in 2ft of water at the end.
Simon W on 35 had started well fishing tight across and had a couple of f1's before he managed to break his no.6 section adjusting his pole roller. Not a good day for the Watkin Brothers. Mick was plugging away and doing far better than I.
To cut a six hour story short, I managed four bites during the match and four fish for a grand total of 6lb something and with 20 minutes left started packing up. It really was a famine peg but we all stick our hand into the pot and should try to make the most of what is in front of us. At no point did I give up as a run of fish can easily change things around. Many matches I have come back in the last hour of a match but alas today was not one of them. Not the way I would have liked the season to end, but that's fishing.
Overall
1 Tony Roberts 69 04
2 Al Loader 61 00
3 Terry Goff 60 08
4 Jim Boase 48 12
5 Tony Watkins 46 12
6 Gino Excell 44 08
2 Al Loader 61 00
3 Terry Goff 60 08
4 Jim Boase 48 12
5 Tony Watkins 46 12
6 Gino Excell 44 08
Mick finished with 33lb to pip Troy with 32lb.
Congratulations to Mick on winning the Marsh AC League for 2014. Another MK Nugget in his pocket and he has managed to claw his way back into a very close finish to the year. 12-10 to me having been 12-6 in front(ooppss) with 2 matches left.
Well done to all the section winners and I look forward to seeing you all on the Xmas Match.
Sunday, 5 October 2014
Hartleylands Reservoir Marsh AC 04 10 14
For the penultimate match of the Marsh AC season we would see ourselves gracing Hartleylands Farm Reservoir in Kent. A bit of a strange match this as there are no results to go by. This is due to the water closing down during the summer months to the carp and bivvy boys. So with this in mind you do not know how it will respond.
All the usual suspects were there, Pete, Troy and Mick, having sorted out his stomach issues during the week. A busier than usual motorway system saw us arrive at the fishery in plenty of time having had the customary stop off for breakfast. With the MK Nugget sitting at 12-8 to me, Mick was keen to close the gap as the year is running out of available matches. He had won the last two and I must admit my form has not been great.
I decided to let the others draw first and I was happy to take what was left but with Mick having drawn peg 7 on the far bank I was keen not to draw in view of him (if he was catching I did not want to know and if I was catching I did not want him to know either). Pete had drawn peg 3 and Troy was on a good peg in 9. I put my hand in and out comes peg 10. Peg 9 and 10 are separated by a willow tree and plenty of carp have lived under it for a few years gone by. Dave had sneaked into peg 1 and Al into 19 both good pegs.
As the water is a reservoir supplying the surrounding apple orchards it is quite deep in places so a variety of methods tend to work. Feeder, Pellet Waggler and both pole long and short. I had opted to fish short, but realised that historically the fish do not tend to come in till late. I set a line up at top 2+2 for fishing corn in 4ft of water and set up two margin lines. One under the willow tree in 18 inches of water and the other on a top three to the left in 2ft of water. Both were NG Mini Diamonds to a size 16 MWG hook and .20 Stroft. Feed was 9 pints of 4mm GOT Sinkers and a kilo of corn. My plan was to drip feed the corn line at top four and dump feed pellet down both edges only going over it if I saw any indications.
At the all I potted two full pots of pellets onto both margins and starting feeding the top 4 line by hand. A good handful to start with then dripping in around 8 grains every minute. The carp in here grow to around 28lb and have seen most things so I did not want to overfeed a line in open water. I could back off if required but wanted to get some feed in early. After 20 minutes on the top 2 +2 line I had a couple of small dips on the float for nothing to show for my efforts, Mick was already catching much to Troy's delight in telling me each time he hooked another carp. A change was required and I swapped hook lengths to fish banded pellet. I placed an 8mm pellet into the band and dropped it in over the corn line and was rewarded with my first carp around 2lb. Another soon followed and I thought I was going to start making headway into Mick's fish. He was now on 8. Alas it was not to be and the line died.
Mick was catching as was Martin in the corner on 5 fish, Gino and Clive were catching regularly albeit in 15 minute intervals. Pete had a 15lber on the board, but both Troy and myself were struggling.
With no more bites forthcoming I had a look under the willow tree, expecting the float to go under straight away. I had left it for two hours and not seen a swirl, but had seen odd fish come in and have a look before drifting off. Needless to say after three hours I was still on 2 carp for around 4lb. At this point I saw a small swirl to my left close to the bank. I gentle lowered the willow tree rig in and within 30 seconds the float had gone and a 5lb carp was in the net. I re-fed a half pot of pellet and went out again on the slightly deeper rig and was rewarded with another 5lber. A couple of foul hooked fish followed so I went back out with the willow rig and a "gelled up" pellet and hooked a proper carp around 15lb, doubling my total weight. I still had a good two hours left and thought if I could catch a few more lumps I may be able to catch up with Mick. I could see Gino still catching and thought he would run Mick close, as was Al who had started off slowly but was now getting a few down the edge. Clive, Martin and Dave were now struggling to get bites. Chris had been content catching silver fish but the carp had moved in over his feed and was now plundering them.
I was now catching and a few more fish to 8lb had graced my landing net along with another 15lb fish. In the last hour though all I could muster was a couple of 4lb fish. It had slowed significantly and I thought the MK Nugget was gone. If they had turned up an hour earlier or stayed an hour longer I would have been close. That's fishing though.
So another nugget finds its way into Mick's back pocket. I must try harder. I have worked it out though, if I only fish against Mick at the last match and the Xmas match then I will win. So no more midweeker's or impromptu matches. That wouldn't be fair would it?
I must admit I was really pleased for Gino, scoring his first match win with a decent weight from a hard venue to crack. Well done mate. Now you can stop and start rehearsing for panto season.
All the usual suspects were there, Pete, Troy and Mick, having sorted out his stomach issues during the week. A busier than usual motorway system saw us arrive at the fishery in plenty of time having had the customary stop off for breakfast. With the MK Nugget sitting at 12-8 to me, Mick was keen to close the gap as the year is running out of available matches. He had won the last two and I must admit my form has not been great.
I decided to let the others draw first and I was happy to take what was left but with Mick having drawn peg 7 on the far bank I was keen not to draw in view of him (if he was catching I did not want to know and if I was catching I did not want him to know either). Pete had drawn peg 3 and Troy was on a good peg in 9. I put my hand in and out comes peg 10. Peg 9 and 10 are separated by a willow tree and plenty of carp have lived under it for a few years gone by. Dave had sneaked into peg 1 and Al into 19 both good pegs.
As the water is a reservoir supplying the surrounding apple orchards it is quite deep in places so a variety of methods tend to work. Feeder, Pellet Waggler and both pole long and short. I had opted to fish short, but realised that historically the fish do not tend to come in till late. I set a line up at top 2+2 for fishing corn in 4ft of water and set up two margin lines. One under the willow tree in 18 inches of water and the other on a top three to the left in 2ft of water. Both were NG Mini Diamonds to a size 16 MWG hook and .20 Stroft. Feed was 9 pints of 4mm GOT Sinkers and a kilo of corn. My plan was to drip feed the corn line at top four and dump feed pellet down both edges only going over it if I saw any indications.
At the all I potted two full pots of pellets onto both margins and starting feeding the top 4 line by hand. A good handful to start with then dripping in around 8 grains every minute. The carp in here grow to around 28lb and have seen most things so I did not want to overfeed a line in open water. I could back off if required but wanted to get some feed in early. After 20 minutes on the top 2 +2 line I had a couple of small dips on the float for nothing to show for my efforts, Mick was already catching much to Troy's delight in telling me each time he hooked another carp. A change was required and I swapped hook lengths to fish banded pellet. I placed an 8mm pellet into the band and dropped it in over the corn line and was rewarded with my first carp around 2lb. Another soon followed and I thought I was going to start making headway into Mick's fish. He was now on 8. Alas it was not to be and the line died.
Mick was catching as was Martin in the corner on 5 fish, Gino and Clive were catching regularly albeit in 15 minute intervals. Pete had a 15lber on the board, but both Troy and myself were struggling.
With no more bites forthcoming I had a look under the willow tree, expecting the float to go under straight away. I had left it for two hours and not seen a swirl, but had seen odd fish come in and have a look before drifting off. Needless to say after three hours I was still on 2 carp for around 4lb. At this point I saw a small swirl to my left close to the bank. I gentle lowered the willow tree rig in and within 30 seconds the float had gone and a 5lb carp was in the net. I re-fed a half pot of pellet and went out again on the slightly deeper rig and was rewarded with another 5lber. A couple of foul hooked fish followed so I went back out with the willow rig and a "gelled up" pellet and hooked a proper carp around 15lb, doubling my total weight. I still had a good two hours left and thought if I could catch a few more lumps I may be able to catch up with Mick. I could see Gino still catching and thought he would run Mick close, as was Al who had started off slowly but was now getting a few down the edge. Clive, Martin and Dave were now struggling to get bites. Chris had been content catching silver fish but the carp had moved in over his feed and was now plundering them.
I was now catching and a few more fish to 8lb had graced my landing net along with another 15lb fish. In the last hour though all I could muster was a couple of 4lb fish. It had slowed significantly and I thought the MK Nugget was gone. If they had turned up an hour earlier or stayed an hour longer I would have been close. That's fishing though.
Overall
1st Gino Exell 148-00
2nd Al Loader 134-00
3rd Mick Wright 129-08
4th Chris Withall 111-12
5th Keith Ashby 93-00
6th John Holdsworth 75-00
I must admit I was really pleased for Gino, scoring his first match win with a decent weight from a hard venue to crack. Well done mate. Now you can stop and start rehearsing for panto season.
Thursday, 2 October 2014
Oakfield Open 01 10 14
It just goes to show how determined Mick is at clawing back the MK Nuggets I have gained from him this year, he suggested that we to go to Oakfield for one of their midweek opens. He is on holiday from work and it suited my shift pattern so I agreed. However, the day before Mick cried off claiming he was not match fit and had been sitting on the toilet for the best part of the day. So it was just me travelling the relatively short distance to Oakfield.
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.
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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