With the cold weather looming, it will soon be the time to put the gear into hibernation.for a couple of months. I have done my time breaking ice and with ageing years and bones, I must say it is not something I enjoy. Still we are not quite there yet and although the weather forecast was sunny but cold, I was happy. Overnight there was no sign of the frosts that greeted me getting into my car after a night shift.
Mick and I were both in attendance along with a few regular faces, a few visitors practising for the upcoming winter league and a few new faces, well new to me.
With our monies paid and the whole lake to go at, Trevor set about spreading the anglers out as best as he could, trying to give everyone a bit of room. Mick was in his customary position towards the front of the queue whilst I slipped in unnoticed at the back. Peg 2 was to be my home. A good summer peg with the cafe wall and reed beds to go at, but in winter I have always found fishing long to be more beneficial. Mick was still drawing flyers in the shape of peg 8, a good peg with decent depth close in.
My plan was a simple one. two rigs for 10 and 2 o'clock one for pellet, the other maggot, scaling down to .13 hooklengths and size 16 or 18 KKMB hooks, Both using .3 MW Steadies. Black hydro completing the set up. I did the same at 5m, plumbing up lines at 10 and 2, the same as long. Still on this line I would throw back but on the longer lines everything would go in via a tosspot. Feed wise I had 3 pints of maggot, 2 pints of fishery 4mms and around a pint of fishery micros. Hookbaits would be 4 and 6mm expanders, maggot or 6mm hard pellet if the fish were having it.
At the all in I went out to 12m at 2o'clock and the float stood still, nothing was coming from the pellet line, lifting a dropping a 4mm expander saw a small indication on the float but the float did not go under. Bringing the rig back in I added another shot and greased up the bristle to hold in the surface tension. Back out and the float buried after a 5 minute wait. A 6oz skimmer being the culprit. Out again and nothing, so re-fed the line with half a small pot of micros.
Moving to the 10 o'clock line with maggot saw a procession of small perch and odd skimmers.I was now feeding via a tosspot on this line and adding a pinch of micros to each pot of maggot. Feeding needed to be regular to keep bites coming and after an hour I had my first carp to go with a few silvers. However, whilst placing the fish in the net I glimpsed up and saw Mick playing a fish.
For the next hour I kept switching between the two long lines for another couple of maggot fish. Hour three saw me having a couple of looks at 5m, I had been feeding it regularly, both by hand and accidently shipping out to the long lines. Only 1 bite on a 6mm expander but no fish within 30 minutes so I binned the lines,deciding to stick to 12m. Hour four and five saw me catching well on maggot over the micros and I felt that the fish had finally arrived, too late to do any damage, but still I was catching and learning.
Realistically I must admit that I probably had 20lb after three hours but doubled that towards the end.
Overall
1st Trevor Price 99-05
2nd Peter Archer 93-05
3rd Sean Wain 88-06
My weight of 65-11 was not too far off the pace, ifs, buts and maybes but was still a days fishing. I also managed to secure another MK Nugget off Mick as his flyer peg was only good for 48lb.
Keith 12
Mick 6
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Sunday, 21 October 2018
Marsh AC Puddledock Islands Lake 20.10.2018
Like most good things, there must be an end and today was the last of the Marsh AC matches for 2018. The club predominantly having club matches from the end of March through to October leaving a few months for recuperation, a spot of predator fishing, winter leagues or a dabble on the rivers.
I had been doing well this year despite not fishing all of the matches,.I was in front by a couple of points from my Nemesis, Mick. Yet still felt that the match was mine to lose rather than win. All I needed was to beat Mick and the overall title was mine.
Seeing as Puddledock Fishery is only 70 miles away we were able to leave Mick's house around 0615 for the relatively short trip along the M1 and M25 motorways. The cafe was just opening on arrival and with a couple of full English Breakfasts ordered we sat down and pondered the day ahead. Some of the lads popped into the tackle shop for advice, whilst I had a plan which consisted of micros, maggot and 4mm expanders. The target fish were small stockies around the 1lb mark. Islands Lake is a water we had never fished before and an ideal way to end a season.
Tony had drawn Peg 1, a peg which screamed fish, a small island at around 7m and some open water and good looking edges. Gino had a bank of reeds to go at across on the tip and looked lovely in the winter sun.
I had been doing well this year despite not fishing all of the matches,.I was in front by a couple of points from my Nemesis, Mick. Yet still felt that the match was mine to lose rather than win. All I needed was to beat Mick and the overall title was mine.
Seeing as Puddledock Fishery is only 70 miles away we were able to leave Mick's house around 0615 for the relatively short trip along the M1 and M25 motorways. The cafe was just opening on arrival and with a couple of full English Breakfasts ordered we sat down and pondered the day ahead. Some of the lads popped into the tackle shop for advice, whilst I had a plan which consisted of micros, maggot and 4mm expanders. The target fish were small stockies around the 1lb mark. Islands Lake is a water we had never fished before and an ideal way to end a season.
Lots of little islands give the lake it's name.
Strangely enough, things tended to run smoothly for a change, perhaps it was Tony's near perfect delivery of organised chaos, details were taken, monies collected and the rules spoken with such calmness and clarity. Mick had drawn peg 9 and I as always hung back and allowed everyone else to have a go in the bag of dreams before plunging my paw and pulling peg 8. Typical, but not so bad. I could keep an eye on Mick, as he could me, but we were also on different banks. We both had the corner of an island around 25m away which was a comfortable lob, but as i did not bring a rod with me I did not even consider it.
Yours truly
I had my plan and was going to stick at it. Maggots, down the edge in a foot of water, maggot and micros at top 4 in around 2ft of water and expanders or 6mm Hard Pellet at 11m. I did plumb up all the way to 14.5m but found a small dip at 11m where it added another 3 or 4 inches to the depth. Feeding for this line was micros with a couple of 4mm sinkers. All feeding would be via a tosspot and not thrown. Considering the cool nights and slow warmth throughout the day's I wanted to try to concentrate fish tightly, as I was only expecting odd bites throughout.Tony had drawn Peg 1, a peg which screamed fish, a small island at around 7m and some open water and good looking edges. Gino had a bank of reeds to go at across on the tip and looked lovely in the winter sun.
Tony's flyer or too many options!!!!!!
At the all in I started feeding my lines with a small pot of micros and either maggots or a couple of expanders added to the mix line dependant. It was slow but I started getting a few indications at 11m and after 10 minutes I had a small stocky in the net for around 10 oz. At least I was off and running. Clive on peg 10 had started on the method and went off like a train.with 5 fish in the first hour. I had nicked another couple of small fish with a couple of roach and had around 3lb in the first 60 minutes. The second and third hour saw me switch to the top four line with maggots but just one bite for a 2lb bonus fish. Swapping between expanders and 6mm hard pellets I kept on putting odd fish in the keepnet. Mick had pinched a couple of fish from the corner of the island and was steadily building a weight. Neither of us were setting the world alight but we were catching. I could see Simon catching well on peg 5, Clive had stopped catching on the tip and was now fishing the pole.
Looking forward and happy with his peg, Gino
John struggled throughout but kept smiling
Kyle, feeling unwell decided to go to the cafe and get a sugary drink, next thing we know was he was beinghauled out of the lake after walking into it. Thank you to the staff and owners of the fishery who kindly driedhis gear off and looked after him getting him back on his feet, whilst we knew nothing of his escapades.
I could not see anyone really setting the world alight and I was just ahead of those around me and still catching so kept on plugging away in hour four adding a few better fish to around 3lb. I now estimated I had around 28lb. However the last couple of hours simply dried up, I had two bites and two fish both from the 11m expander line. Mick was now getting a few fish from the end of his keepnets on maggot, but love or try I could not get the fish to come so close throughout the match.
Overall
1st Gino Exell 34.08
2nd Keith Ashby 33.00
3rd Simon Watkins 28.08
4th Mick Wright 20.08
5th Tony Roberts 14.00
5th Clive Pritchard 14.00
Overall the lake, I think fished as expected, I said at the off that 30lb would be a good weight and knew the cool temperatures and colder nights coupled with shallow water would have an effect on the fishing. I was lucky enough to come second by switching lines regularly and working to a plan. Mick ended up giving me another MK Nugget.
I was also successful in the Marsh AC league competition winning both the all matches count league by 4 points from Mick and also the drop 2 matches league by 13 points from Simon.
Well that's it for this year on the Marsh AC front. I will know turn my attention to fishing a few matches at Alders Farm and Oakfield to fix my fishing habit throughout the winter.
Keith 11
Mick 6
Sunday, 7 October 2018
Marsh AC Hartleylands Res 06.10.2018
As I said earlier the nights are drawing in and although we could still maintain our six hour matches, it is very much dependant on the fishery. After speaking with the bailiff to confirm all the rules we were happy. Scales for the larger fish were scattered around the lake, hooking mats for those that required them, no need for a mid match weigh in as we were showing "a level of responsibility" with our plans.It does the club proud the fact that fisheries will welcome us back each year knowing that the fishery and its rules will be respected throughout our stay.
A good turnout (15) today for the reservoir match saw Mick pushing his way to the front of the queue whilst I was holding back and letting every one else go in first. One day a flyer will be left in the bag for me.
Mick with his secret ingredients.
But alas, Mick, Gino, Chris and Simon occupied my perception of the better pegs. I decided that the Reverend Tony Roberts was a danger man, not to the fish but to himself, he had drawn the same peg as last year where he struggled his way to 40lb. Someone said he had brought a rope with him and with plenty of trees surrounding the lake, I made sure to fish a line where I could see him.
The Reverend contemplating happier moments
My peg 16 was one of those where, nothing really happens and then you get a short burst of fish then nothing again. I had a plan to fish 5m in the deep water around 4ft at 10am and 2pm feeding 4mm pellet one side and nothing the other. I would also have a line down both edges on a top three for maggot on the right and pellet left. I did want to fish the pellet waggler to the middle but decided at the last minute to leave them at home, mistake, it looked perfect for the waggler, a little ripple in the middle of the lake with fish topping all over.At the all in I put a large pot of 4mm sinkers onto the top four line and a pot of maggot down both edges. Starting off on the no feed line I had a couple of six ounce roach to start off with, lifting and droping a 6mm hard pellet. A switch to an 8mm saw my first carp after around twenty minutes, a crisp common around 6lb. Nothing was forthcoming so I switched over to the fed line and again lifting and dropping a 6mm woould only see a couple of pound skimmers and roach whereas an 8mm saw a couple of small 3lb carp.
Terry ready for the off
Gino was going well with a couple of weighers but he felt the Simon was emptying the lake opposite him on peg 1. I could see Mick catching well, fishing the margins and the willow tree. Jim Etherington, a guest of the club was also catching well on the bomb with popped up bread over his pole lines.I had been fishing top four lines for three hours and had around 30lb including some silvers and felt it was time for the edges, A look down to the left saw a couple of small roach and perch fall to 5 maggots on a size 14, the right hand edge, again started off with roach and perch before the float buried and a good common around 8lb was gracing my landing net. Feeding a pot of maggot after each fish and lifting and dropping a bait was working, I was picking off odd carp in amongst the roach and perch, the only downside being that time was running out.
At the all out I had nicked six fish from the edge for around another 30lb to add to the earlier 30lb and a few silvers.
Asking around, Tony was admitting to another 40lb weight, Gino was revelling in his 45lb weight and was planning on how he was going to spend his section winnings. I must admit I may have been responsible for this as I did tell him I had around 30lb, but watching a grown man fist pump a weight in fishing did make me laugh.
Still the scales do not lie, said weight watchers. Gino was first up and an impressive 55lb Rod had struggled all day to place a couple of pound onto the scales. I put 13 pound of silvers on the sheet before place 59lb of carp for a total of 72lb 12oz. Tony had left his rope in his bag and had worked hard for 44-08. Jim had down the business and walked the section with 108lb, a mix of bread caught bomb fish and a few on the pole. Dave was a bit hemmed in on his peg but still managed 38lb with Roger adding 18lb to the scales sheet.
Chris trendsetting again
On the other bank Mick was first to weigh in and placed a solid 100 - 04 on the board for the section win with Chris on the other side of the willow adding 56lb of waggler fish. Jim had caught well with a solid 70lb with Garry chipping in with a couple of weighers, already on the board and a few silvers for 23-05. Clive was in the corner and chipped in with 48lb before we got to John. Four fish on the board for 40lb plus 51lb in the net would see John leap into 3rd place. Terry weighed 52lb with Simon jumping into 4th place with 83lb of pole and waggler fish.
Simon on his way to 4th overall
Overall
1st Jim Etherington 108-00
2nd Mick Wright 100-04
3rd John Holdsworth 91-04
4th Simon Watkins 83-00
5th Keith Ashby 72-12
6th Jim Boase 70-08.
Overall, I went with a plan and felt that with better control on my part it would have worked better. I felt afterwards that potting maggots and feeding via a toss pot would have improved things, hindsight.
The longer line went as i expected really but perhaps more time trying to find a level area within the peg would have been better, rather than trying to get the float to sit right on the slope.
Well done to all the Section Winners.
Well done to all the Section Winners.
Mick had fished a good match from a good peg, but it was good to see him back to winning ways, even if it did cost me a MK Nugget.
Mick 6
Keith 10.
Sunday, 23 September 2018
Marsh AC Colemans Cottage Stepfield 22.09.2018
How a couple of weeks can make a difference in fishing, the weather was great at the start of the month, now we have Storm Ali closely followed by storm Bronagh,. Luckily I am not a fine weather angler. The strange thing is it always coincides with matches at Coleman's Cottage, looking back there are plenty of times I have driven with condensation on the windows where everything inside the car is soaking wet.
Pulling up to Mick's house, I could see he was ready with all the tackle on his driveway. We were soon off for the 80 minute drive along the M1, M25 and A12 to Witham. The weather was fine at this point and it was great putting the world to right with the Mick as we have been working different times recently.
Arriving in plenty of time for a Coleman's Breakfast is always good and plenty of changes have taken place to the cafe since my last visit,all for the better. A few of the other lads were already in attendance and discussing the forthcoming match and analysing their performances from the last one.
With the pools money leaving my pocket, Dave started off informing us of the rules of the fishery and which pegs we were to fish. We had plenty of room with the pegging from 2 to 20, that's until I pulled out 22, the match organiser's job is not a happy one, but with every other peg and 11 of us on it I suppose 2 to 22 was right. Still where Simon had contrived to get the "end peg" it was snatched away from him by me. Mick had also managed the other end peg in peg 2. At least we were not together, as often happens.
Setting up home on 22, I felt confident of a few fish, plenty of depth out, shallow margins but there were a few fish swimming past that could be seen.
I was going to try to nick a couple of early carp, down the edge before going out to 2+2 and sacking up before going back to the edges late on. That was the plan, however we only had around a foot of water two metres from the bank and only 8 inches closer in. The other side was a little deeper but was awkward fishing due to the trees.
At 2+2 I had around 3ft which was perfect for the pellet attack to follow. I had based all my efforts around pellets for this match. We had been told it was fishing well for F1s and the carp were not showing, this may have been due to the warmer weather, but today was different, it was cooler and the onset of autumn was starting to show. It was starting to rain and looking to the skies was going to be set for the day.
I started off the match feeding a mix of micros and 4mm pellets onto both the margin lines and 2+2 lines and within minutes I could see fish coming into the peg, heads down and then leaving the margins. I left it for a while trying to see if there was a pattern to the entering and leaving of the peg. I managed to take three carp from this line by fishing at the entry point which was by a set of reeds at 2 plus one to the left. The second hour I had a look at the 2+2 line and nothing, not a murmur, lifting dropping, fishing bigger,smaller pellets, shallow were all tried. Fish were still coming into both margins but I was only catching from the shallow one.
It was extremely frustrating, I could see fish coming in and feeding, then bypassing my bait and moving on. I swapped hooklengths down to .13 line diameters and changed hooks to a size 18 KKMB and still I would only get an odd bite.
I really felt that during the match I would have been better off fishing maggot, considering the depth of water, but although I know the water does respond to maggot, I had not brought any with me. P£$% Poor Preparation.
Still I stuck it out for the five hours, nicking odd fish. I could not see anyone else, so did not have a clue how the match had gone. I had caught some fish, but I assumed the others had fared well as the better pegs were on the corner, pegs 8 and 10. The wind was blowing down to that end of the lake and always seem to hold a few resident fish. A quick chat with Simon before the weigh in and a 61lb admission, whereas I thought I had around 50lb.
It had rained all day getting progressively worse as the day wore on. Starting off on Mick's Peg two I was very surprised to see him lift 20lb to the scales, Rod had not had a bite, Terry on 6 had fared just as bad with 12lb before we got to peg 8 and Clive, two weighs and 83lb, just goes to show a good angler on a good peg will always do well. Gino on the other flyer 10 had another frustrating day and 40lb. The reverend Tony Roberts must have cursed his way to 36lb, John placed 29lb and by now I was thinking I had done well, I could not catch Clive but the others were in my grasp. Dave placed 42lb with a mix of carp and and 7lb of silvers to snatch second off Gino. Kyle, fresh from his last match successes, placed 36lb on the scales. Simon was next and his estimation of 61lb was not too far away with 64lb going onto the weigh sheet. I was last to weigh in and using two weighs placed 63lb on the scales to miss out on the section win by a pound.
Still at least I had the comfort of another MK Nugget off Mick to make the score now 10-5 in my favour.
Well done to Clive and Simon on winning the match and section prizes.
Next match will be at Hartleylands Reservoir on October 6th. Looking forward to this one, having not fished it under the new ownership.
Keith 10
Mick 5
Pulling up to Mick's house, I could see he was ready with all the tackle on his driveway. We were soon off for the 80 minute drive along the M1, M25 and A12 to Witham. The weather was fine at this point and it was great putting the world to right with the Mick as we have been working different times recently.
Arriving in plenty of time for a Coleman's Breakfast is always good and plenty of changes have taken place to the cafe since my last visit,all for the better. A few of the other lads were already in attendance and discussing the forthcoming match and analysing their performances from the last one.
With the pools money leaving my pocket, Dave started off informing us of the rules of the fishery and which pegs we were to fish. We had plenty of room with the pegging from 2 to 20, that's until I pulled out 22, the match organiser's job is not a happy one, but with every other peg and 11 of us on it I suppose 2 to 22 was right. Still where Simon had contrived to get the "end peg" it was snatched away from him by me. Mick had also managed the other end peg in peg 2. At least we were not together, as often happens.
Setting up home on 22, I felt confident of a few fish, plenty of depth out, shallow margins but there were a few fish swimming past that could be seen.
I was going to try to nick a couple of early carp, down the edge before going out to 2+2 and sacking up before going back to the edges late on. That was the plan, however we only had around a foot of water two metres from the bank and only 8 inches closer in. The other side was a little deeper but was awkward fishing due to the trees.
At 2+2 I had around 3ft which was perfect for the pellet attack to follow. I had based all my efforts around pellets for this match. We had been told it was fishing well for F1s and the carp were not showing, this may have been due to the warmer weather, but today was different, it was cooler and the onset of autumn was starting to show. It was starting to rain and looking to the skies was going to be set for the day.
I started off the match feeding a mix of micros and 4mm pellets onto both the margin lines and 2+2 lines and within minutes I could see fish coming into the peg, heads down and then leaving the margins. I left it for a while trying to see if there was a pattern to the entering and leaving of the peg. I managed to take three carp from this line by fishing at the entry point which was by a set of reeds at 2 plus one to the left. The second hour I had a look at the 2+2 line and nothing, not a murmur, lifting dropping, fishing bigger,smaller pellets, shallow were all tried. Fish were still coming into both margins but I was only catching from the shallow one.
It was extremely frustrating, I could see fish coming in and feeding, then bypassing my bait and moving on. I swapped hooklengths down to .13 line diameters and changed hooks to a size 18 KKMB and still I would only get an odd bite.
Dave putting his new pole through its paces
I really felt that during the match I would have been better off fishing maggot, considering the depth of water, but although I know the water does respond to maggot, I had not brought any with me. P£$% Poor Preparation.
Simon explaining his paste approach. 1 fish succumbed to it.
Still I stuck it out for the five hours, nicking odd fish. I could not see anyone else, so did not have a clue how the match had gone. I had caught some fish, but I assumed the others had fared well as the better pegs were on the corner, pegs 8 and 10. The wind was blowing down to that end of the lake and always seem to hold a few resident fish. A quick chat with Simon before the weigh in and a 61lb admission, whereas I thought I had around 50lb.
It had rained all day getting progressively worse as the day wore on. Starting off on Mick's Peg two I was very surprised to see him lift 20lb to the scales, Rod had not had a bite, Terry on 6 had fared just as bad with 12lb before we got to peg 8 and Clive, two weighs and 83lb, just goes to show a good angler on a good peg will always do well. Gino on the other flyer 10 had another frustrating day and 40lb. The reverend Tony Roberts must have cursed his way to 36lb, John placed 29lb and by now I was thinking I had done well, I could not catch Clive but the others were in my grasp. Dave placed 42lb with a mix of carp and and 7lb of silvers to snatch second off Gino. Kyle, fresh from his last match successes, placed 36lb on the scales. Simon was next and his estimation of 61lb was not too far away with 64lb going onto the weigh sheet. I was last to weigh in and using two weighs placed 63lb on the scales to miss out on the section win by a pound.
Still at least I had the comfort of another MK Nugget off Mick to make the score now 10-5 in my favour.
Well done to Clive and Simon on winning the match and section prizes.
Next match will be at Hartleylands Reservoir on October 6th. Looking forward to this one, having not fished it under the new ownership.
Keith 10
Mick 5
Saturday, 15 September 2018
Joseph James Law Alders Farm 14.09.2018
The format consists of 5 anglers per team with a non fishing captain, who does the draw, can place his anglers and be on hand to assist with the weigh in and if needed do a bit of fetching and carrying.Each angler is then allocated a section on a particular lake with 2 sections on Pines, 2 sections on Ash and a section on Oaks. Points are awarded relating to the final placing in the section with the lowest points total winning the event and £1000. There is also a prize for runners-up and individual winner.
I had decided a while back that I would be happy to be on hand to assist the Maggotdrowning .com team in any capacity that they needed as I had fished the previous two years. I was going to be there anyway just to watch a few anglers, but did not expect to find out I was in the squad. It is a local water to me but I had not been able to put any real time into the water to sort out a few things,but I had done well in the Marsh AC and Maggotdrowning Pairs Matches to give me a sense for the place.
So the squad was Peter (Captain) Dave { Red Leader) Trevor Drakes, Clive Pritchard and Mark Skeggs and myself.
At the draw Pete decided to give his travelling partner, one of best pegs on the complex, let alone the lake. Peg 30 was Dave's home for the next five hours, I had peg 26, not one I had fished before but I knew it was shallow. Clive and Trevor were up on Pines 19 and 23 with Mark volunteering to bite the bullet and fish the Specimen Lake Oaks (not sure of the peg number).
After pointing out to Dave, how good the peg was, I took the stroll around to my peg. I must admit it did look good. I was next to 27, a good peg in its own right with a bit more depth than mine, but it was not in my section so I was not too concerned by what was happening to my left and opposite. For company I had one of the England under 15 anglers on peg 25, Billy Kirk. I set my stall out to catch on a 6mm hard pellet with a bit of corn and maggot as a back up for last couple of hours if I was struggling. Feeding would be 4mm fishery pellets.
The prestige in winning this event grows each year with some of the best anglers in the country fishing and many more not making the teams. There are teams from Guru, Preston Innovations, Garbolino, Drennan, Maver UKA, Colmic, Maryuku, England U15s, Joseph James Law, Mallory Park, Maver UKB and of course the mighty Maggotdrowners. The teams consisted of some of the best match angling names including Fisho champions, ex-England Internationals, and countless other big match winners. They were taking us seriously!!!!!!!!
I started my match fishing long, I had around 2ft at 12.5m fishing a 6mm pellet, After a couple of minutes I had my first bite, unfortunately it came off on the way back, out again and the same thing happened. Third time lucky and a fish around 4lb, I was off and running. It was fishing hard, I had 3 fish in the first hour for about 10lb.
A switch to the 2 plus two line and a single fish and no more bites. I kept rotating long and short, swapping and changing all tthe time, trying to make something work or at least put a run together, maggot brought a solitary skimmer. I was a little behind in the match and was struggling to keep fish on the hook. I only had around 12 inches of water to fish in and with that sort of depth there is only so much that can be done. In hindsight a smaller float would have worked more effectively. Easy when it is over. Lesson learnt.
After 3 hours I was going nowhere and started to feed the margins with maggot, feeding around 30 or 40 maggots every put in. It was like a switch had clicked on, Regular bites and although I was losing one for every one caught I was putting fish in the net. Young Billy was matching me fish for fish and it was great to see a young man, passionate about his chosen sport. Constantly wanting to learn and asking questions of his mother. Further along I could see Chris Barley catching.
At the all out I had suffered a frustrating day, I had lost more than I landed, a lot of them were foul hooked but I must admit I made a few mistakes along the way, these are the mistakes that seperate us from the gods of our sport, they never seem to blow out.
Our section was won by Chris Barley with 125-10, Ed Warren was second with 102lb and Andy Oldham third with 94lb. My weight of 61-12 was just behind Billy's 66-02 for 9th in my section of 12. Lost fish have cost me but I suppose everyone would be saying the same.
Overall the individual honours went to Guru star Pete Upperton with 186lb from peg 29 on Ash Lake, next to Red leader Dave.
Unfortunately, our woes continued throughout the team, Dave had 74lb for top weight for the maggotdrowners. Trevor had 50lb Clive 36lb and Mark 20+lb including a cracking 16lb carp taken on the pole from the Specimen lake.
Mark with his 16lb carp
On the team front Preston Black Horse won the £1000 prize pot and the prestigious JJL Winners trophy for 2018.narrowly beating Mallory Park.
Adam Rooney with 67lb of carp from Oaks Lake
Darren Cox with 38lb of immaculate Perch from Oaks Lake
Founder of Joseph James Law , Andrew Settle with 53lb of Carp from Peg 14 Ash Lake
Overall, it has been an amazing day, full of good laughs, fished in the right manner by everyone involved. Special thanks must go to the owners of Alders Farm Fishery for use of the fishery and providing the catering both before and after the event. To all the volunteers and helpers who have given up a day's work to look after us. To Catch More Media and Tom Scholey who has captured the day for posterity. Thanks to Trevor Price, the fisheries go to guy, he knows every peg and gave up his preparation time to make sure every angler had a plan of what,where and how to catch from their peg.
And finally, to Andrew Settle and his team, without them this event would never happen. They had the foresight to follow an idea, a passion that drives them forward and if such determination is put into your legal services, then your dealings with them can only be fruitful. Bear them in mind when you need legal advice.
Saturday, 8 September 2018
Puddledock Farm Road Lake Marsh AC 08.09.2018
Three weeks have passed since I managed to wet a line, seems like an eternity but family commitments took priority and softened the blow. The weather has changed a bit since my last outing where I was sat in shorts and today I needed to where a hoodie, just to take the edge off.
Mick was driving, so it was a good chance to catch up properly. In fact, it was around junction 28 of the M25 before we spoke about fishing.
We were second to arrive at the fishery, Kevin and Jean were calmly waiting for the cafe to open whilst I popped into the tackle shop on site and grabbed myself another towel, mine was found this morning with a lovely set of mouse holes. Slowly the gathered anglers arrived and full English's were delivered promptly.
Dave had arranged with the fishery that we would have one bank and this suited us, it is only a small club and with other anglers unable to make it, it still allowed us all a bit of room. So with breakfast's out of the way and monies paid, we were all stood around Dave's car awaiting the draw. Simon had brought along his future son in law, Kyle, who was just getting back into fishing. It was agreed that they could fish in adjacent pegs as they would be sharing tackle, Kev and Rod had short walks, Mick had his customary end peg leaving the rest of us to draw for pegs. Mine would be half way up the lake on permanent peg 23. At least I had the Chairman next to me.
I have had a lot of decent results recently fishing pellet and corn, it seems to work well and suits my style of fishing. Today would be no different, I would be feeding 4mm Alders Farm Pellets with a generous mix of corn fed regularly to start the session. I opted for a long line at 12.5m where I had the same depth as fishing at 5m. So a couple of MW floats .19 N Guage to a size 16 KKMB hook, something new to try. I set up one rig on black hydro, the other on orange vespe. A shallow rig for fishing the margin, and a couple of rigs set at 2ft for the right hand edge where it dropped off quite sharply.
I started off quite slowly feeding all my lines with a pole cup before going long and glancing around seeing Mick landing a fish. I could also hear Simon asking Kyle if he had caught one. Personally I did not have anything for around 10 minutes. I was getting small indications on the float and slight adjustments to the float eventually saw a small koi carp about a pound come to the net. A couple of small carp before a 2lb plus fish put in an appearance. After an hour I reckoned on 4 small carp and a couple of koi, another carp around 3lb for a total of 12lb. Apparently I was doing well.
A 30 minute spell slapping brought another couple of small carp but nothing to really stretch the elastic. I had been feeding the 5m line with corn regularly and a bit of pellet, it was time to have a look. First put in on corn and the float buries and a good skimmer around 2lb, next put in another, a better 4lb carp and I was beginning to think hey ho. Still it was short lived and the bigger fish were replaced with small skimmers and koi with odd roach and odd carp thrown in all on the pellet.
I could see Mick was nicking a few fish but they did seem small,still it gave his new pole a run out. Tony had popped down to try to put a curse on me, Simon and Kyle were having a private battle between themselves. Chairman Dave was getting a few fish, and I even mentioned to him that there were plenty of silvers to be had if he wanted them.
I kept on rotating my lines and not staying longer than 30 minutes on each one, something I have been guilty of in the past. I would grab a few fish, then move and start again.
Going into the last hour I reckoned on around 50lb in the net and decided to go down the edges for the last hour. 10 fish later and I was happy, I had fished a good match and felt confident of a frame place.
Mick was first to weigh in and although I had seen him catching a few, they were the only ones he caught. Another end peg wasted and 22-08, Tony was next from his corner peg, a solid performance from the Reverend and 9lb 8oz of silvers to go with 25 -08 for a 35-00 total. Terry slipped 26-12 onto the scales and this was fast becoming the quickest weigh in Marsh AC had ever encountered. Chairman Dave put 17-08 on the scales thanks to 4 late carp. Onto me, my first silvers net went 22-00. I only needed 9 ounces for another MK Nugget off Mick. With him watching on intently my second net went 60-08 for a clear cut section win and more importantly another of Mick's Nuggets.
Kyle was next up and placed a solid 42-00 onto the scales for second place. Simon cut short Kyle's joy though with 43-12 to push him down to third.
Rod chipped in with 5-08 before Kevin finished with 16-12.
Mick was driving, so it was a good chance to catch up properly. In fact, it was around junction 28 of the M25 before we spoke about fishing.
We were second to arrive at the fishery, Kevin and Jean were calmly waiting for the cafe to open whilst I popped into the tackle shop on site and grabbed myself another towel, mine was found this morning with a lovely set of mouse holes. Slowly the gathered anglers arrived and full English's were delivered promptly.
Dave had arranged with the fishery that we would have one bank and this suited us, it is only a small club and with other anglers unable to make it, it still allowed us all a bit of room. So with breakfast's out of the way and monies paid, we were all stood around Dave's car awaiting the draw. Simon had brought along his future son in law, Kyle, who was just getting back into fishing. It was agreed that they could fish in adjacent pegs as they would be sharing tackle, Kev and Rod had short walks, Mick had his customary end peg leaving the rest of us to draw for pegs. Mine would be half way up the lake on permanent peg 23. At least I had the Chairman next to me.
I have had a lot of decent results recently fishing pellet and corn, it seems to work well and suits my style of fishing. Today would be no different, I would be feeding 4mm Alders Farm Pellets with a generous mix of corn fed regularly to start the session. I opted for a long line at 12.5m where I had the same depth as fishing at 5m. So a couple of MW floats .19 N Guage to a size 16 KKMB hook, something new to try. I set up one rig on black hydro, the other on orange vespe. A shallow rig for fishing the margin, and a couple of rigs set at 2ft for the right hand edge where it dropped off quite sharply.
I started off quite slowly feeding all my lines with a pole cup before going long and glancing around seeing Mick landing a fish. I could also hear Simon asking Kyle if he had caught one. Personally I did not have anything for around 10 minutes. I was getting small indications on the float and slight adjustments to the float eventually saw a small koi carp about a pound come to the net. A couple of small carp before a 2lb plus fish put in an appearance. After an hour I reckoned on 4 small carp and a couple of koi, another carp around 3lb for a total of 12lb. Apparently I was doing well.
A 30 minute spell slapping brought another couple of small carp but nothing to really stretch the elastic. I had been feeding the 5m line with corn regularly and a bit of pellet, it was time to have a look. First put in on corn and the float buries and a good skimmer around 2lb, next put in another, a better 4lb carp and I was beginning to think hey ho. Still it was short lived and the bigger fish were replaced with small skimmers and koi with odd roach and odd carp thrown in all on the pellet.
I could see Mick was nicking a few fish but they did seem small,still it gave his new pole a run out. Tony had popped down to try to put a curse on me, Simon and Kyle were having a private battle between themselves. Chairman Dave was getting a few fish, and I even mentioned to him that there were plenty of silvers to be had if he wanted them.
I kept on rotating my lines and not staying longer than 30 minutes on each one, something I have been guilty of in the past. I would grab a few fish, then move and start again.
Going into the last hour I reckoned on around 50lb in the net and decided to go down the edges for the last hour. 10 fish later and I was happy, I had fished a good match and felt confident of a frame place.
Mick was first to weigh in and although I had seen him catching a few, they were the only ones he caught. Another end peg wasted and 22-08, Tony was next from his corner peg, a solid performance from the Reverend and 9lb 8oz of silvers to go with 25 -08 for a 35-00 total. Terry slipped 26-12 onto the scales and this was fast becoming the quickest weigh in Marsh AC had ever encountered. Chairman Dave put 17-08 on the scales thanks to 4 late carp. Onto me, my first silvers net went 22-00. I only needed 9 ounces for another MK Nugget off Mick. With him watching on intently my second net went 60-08 for a clear cut section win and more importantly another of Mick's Nuggets.
Kyle was next up and placed a solid 42-00 onto the scales for second place. Simon cut short Kyle's joy though with 43-12 to push him down to third.
Rod chipped in with 5-08 before Kevin finished with 16-12.
Overall
1st Keith Ashby 82-08
2nd Simon Watkins 43-12
3rd Kyle 42-00
4th Tony Roberts 35-00
5th Terry Goff 26-12
6th Mick Wright 22-08
Overall, the lake did not fish well and to be fair there was a lot of pressure on them, The opposite bank was full and although we had a bit of room the fish did not turn up til late. It was a case of nick a few and move, nick a few more and move. Still I enjoyed the day, It is always good to fish venues where you need to think about what you are doing. Next stop for me is on Friday on the Joseph James Law match at Alders Farm, a truly great event and plenty of very good anglers to compete against. Again I do not expect any form of result on the day, but I will know I would have enjoyed it.
Keith 9
Mick 5
Sunday, 19 August 2018
Marsh AC Orchard Farm Lake 6 18.08.2018
With the week days fully booked up until October, I have really started to enjoy getting out on the bank at weekends. I know they are club matches but the craic and banter is well worth a 200 mile round trip.Today would see both Mick and I travelling back to Kent, we were there a fortnight ago plundering the Monks Lake 2 carp. This time another venue that I had only fished once before, Lake 6 at Orchard Farm fishery.
My turn to drive and with no idea where I was going it was down to the trusted Garmin to take us there, and to be fair it did, although I must question what it constitutes as a road. Still, arriving nice and early we were greeted by Gino, Terry and Simon at the on site cafe. Tony and Clive joined us fairly soon after and once breakfast was out of the way it was a short drive to the lake.
Dave was already orchestrating proceedings only becoming of the Chairman. Monies, pegging and draw went smoothly with me nearly sneaking in front of Mick only for my hand to suddenly retract at the last minute. Mick draws first, what was I thinking? With a scolding look on his face, he goes into the hat and draws end peg 1, something do not change. For my misdemeanour, I was going to make peg 9 my home for the day.
Walking around everyone seemed happy with their draws, so the match should be a good one on paper.
Last time I was here was over a year ago, on that day I caught steadily throughout, using pellet hook-baits and feeding 4mm sinking pellets. With plenty of room in front of me I planned to fish up and down on a top kit plus one and two. Setting up kits with various depths from 8 inches to 2 ft all with orange vespe elastics as I was expecting it to be fast and furious. No messing around with rigs, .3g MW Margin floats .22 line and a size 14 B911x. 6 pints of 4mms would suffice as I would be fishing a banded 6mm over the top.
I had Rod to my right and he would be fishing either a float or tip match but Clive, Terry and Gino would take some beating from the better pegs towards the point of the spit. I could see Mick on peg 1 from where I was and could keep an eye on him throughout the day. Simon was pleased with his peg, nice open water to fish up in the water, a method he excels at.
I would start the match feeding 10 pellets every 30 seconds trying to tempt the fish up in the water. After a few false starts and liners on my 2ft rig I switched to a rig around 12 inches and this seemed to work better with my feeding regime. I was getting a fish every couple of minutes, still feeding around 10 pellets every put in. I would place the rig in and if no bite within 10 seconds start again, However, the feeding never changed. I was going well, not big fish like Monks Lake 2 but regular fish around the 2lb mark and after an hour I had 25 fish with Simon admitting to 30, so I was a little behind. Terry and Clive were both catching up in the water whilst Mick was getting stuck into the edge fish.
Surprisingly, I managed to keep fish coming throughout the match from the same line, whereas normally when I fish for f1's I need to rotate lines regularly, nicking a couple of fish from one line before going onto the next, continually rotating the lines.However the fish were moving up and down in the water column.
At the all out I thought I had around 150 fish. Clive was admitting to 137 and Simon a mammoth 182. Mick had a sneaky grin on his face and that meant he had caught well throughout the match.
Mick was first to place his catch onto the scales and after multiple weighs settled on 244-04, a tough target for the MK Nugget challenge. Simon was next from peg 2 and after what seemed an eternity, net after net came to the scales and 385-08. Chris managed 79-08 before Chairman Dave placed 108-08. The Reverend Tony Roberts got among the double tonners with 241-12 and only 3rd in section. Amazing set of weights.
Into the second section and Gino, from the peg I fished the previous year, 202lb and another happy angler, unfortunately it will only be good enough for 4th in a 5 peg section. Terry and Clive had been going hammer and tong with each other throughout the match and it was too tight to call. Terry weighing first and 259lb dead.
My turn to drive and with no idea where I was going it was down to the trusted Garmin to take us there, and to be fair it did, although I must question what it constitutes as a road. Still, arriving nice and early we were greeted by Gino, Terry and Simon at the on site cafe. Tony and Clive joined us fairly soon after and once breakfast was out of the way it was a short drive to the lake.
Dave was already orchestrating proceedings only becoming of the Chairman. Monies, pegging and draw went smoothly with me nearly sneaking in front of Mick only for my hand to suddenly retract at the last minute. Mick draws first, what was I thinking? With a scolding look on his face, he goes into the hat and draws end peg 1, something do not change. For my misdemeanour, I was going to make peg 9 my home for the day.
Walking around everyone seemed happy with their draws, so the match should be a good one on paper.
Last time I was here was over a year ago, on that day I caught steadily throughout, using pellet hook-baits and feeding 4mm sinking pellets. With plenty of room in front of me I planned to fish up and down on a top kit plus one and two. Setting up kits with various depths from 8 inches to 2 ft all with orange vespe elastics as I was expecting it to be fast and furious. No messing around with rigs, .3g MW Margin floats .22 line and a size 14 B911x. 6 pints of 4mms would suffice as I would be fishing a banded 6mm over the top.
I had Rod to my right and he would be fishing either a float or tip match but Clive, Terry and Gino would take some beating from the better pegs towards the point of the spit. I could see Mick on peg 1 from where I was and could keep an eye on him throughout the day. Simon was pleased with his peg, nice open water to fish up in the water, a method he excels at.
I would start the match feeding 10 pellets every 30 seconds trying to tempt the fish up in the water. After a few false starts and liners on my 2ft rig I switched to a rig around 12 inches and this seemed to work better with my feeding regime. I was getting a fish every couple of minutes, still feeding around 10 pellets every put in. I would place the rig in and if no bite within 10 seconds start again, However, the feeding never changed. I was going well, not big fish like Monks Lake 2 but regular fish around the 2lb mark and after an hour I had 25 fish with Simon admitting to 30, so I was a little behind. Terry and Clive were both catching up in the water whilst Mick was getting stuck into the edge fish.
Surprisingly, I managed to keep fish coming throughout the match from the same line, whereas normally when I fish for f1's I need to rotate lines regularly, nicking a couple of fish from one line before going onto the next, continually rotating the lines.However the fish were moving up and down in the water column.
At the all out I thought I had around 150 fish. Clive was admitting to 137 and Simon a mammoth 182. Mick had a sneaky grin on his face and that meant he had caught well throughout the match.
Mick was first to place his catch onto the scales and after multiple weighs settled on 244-04, a tough target for the MK Nugget challenge. Simon was next from peg 2 and after what seemed an eternity, net after net came to the scales and 385-08. Chris managed 79-08 before Chairman Dave placed 108-08. The Reverend Tony Roberts got among the double tonners with 241-12 and only 3rd in section. Amazing set of weights.
Into the second section and Gino, from the peg I fished the previous year, 202lb and another happy angler, unfortunately it will only be good enough for 4th in a 5 peg section. Terry and Clive had been going hammer and tong with each other throughout the match and it was too tight to call. Terry weighing first and 259lb dead.
Clive followed this weight with 257lb dead. One fish in it at the end.
Onto myself and I had a good day 150 fish and a total of 326lb despite going over in my nets. Rod was last to weigh in and had secured another enjoyable day where the tip went round and the float buried. His weight of 41lb was not going to win the match but his enjoyment certainly helped ease his pain.
Overall
1st Simon Watkins 385-08
2nd Keith Ashby 326-00
3rd Terry Goff 259-00
4th Clive Pritchard 257-00
5th Mick Wright 244-04
6th Tony Roberts 241-12
7th Gino Exell 202-00
8th Dave Collier 108-08
9th Chris Withall 79-08
10th Rod Turner 41-00
Between the 10 of us we managed over 2 tonnes of fish, 2 triple tons, 5 double tons, 1 ton and 2 others.
A good day out amongst friends, good banter and a few fish for all of us.
I won the MK Nugget to wipe the grin off Mick's face and take the lead to 3.
Keith 8 Mick 5.
Next club match is Puddledock Road Lake in September.
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