After too long a time away I got back to Cider Farm this Sunday and was looking forward to the match. Weights recently had been very good with 100lb+ winning every match and tons coming from both lakes. There were about 36 fishing today so Mark Gibson decided to run 3 sections paying out the top 4 in each. He did this because he felt Dabinett would dominate the frame (and he was right) and so with this in mind I didn't really mind where I drew. There was a good selection of draw bags about, Pete Sivell, Brian Slipper, John Paige (LoL), Steve Howells to name but a few, Clayton Hudson was also there but he's drawing crap at present!
I pulled out peg 56 on Yarlington which I have already drawn once before this year and last time on it I came 2nd on the lake. However, it was a bit different this time out, as the reeds have grown on and they are now sending out runners across the water! As I knew paste had been doing well here I set up a rig for this at 5 metres, where it was 6ft deep, a big H float with no shot, 0.18 straight through to a size 12 Drennan Nu hook (only have a couple of these hooks left now). A 4x16 rig for banded pellet with 0.16 to a 16 PR36 was for the same line (but actually only took 1 fish). Across at 12 metres was a nice bit of bare bank and a 4x10 PB jobby (red float cane bristle) with 0.16 to 16 PR36 was set at 1ft. The margin was nearly 3ft deep, so a 4x12 was set up for this.
The wind was blowing up quite bad, and it seemed to me that my peg and Steve Preece's next door on 58 were the worse affected. To start the match I fed half a big cup of 6mm pellet and a few balls of paste at 5mtr, cupped some 6mm across and threw some in down the dege with a bit of corn. I was quite pleased to see some fizzing on the 5mtr line as this was where I planned to start, and a fish first chuck was very nice! After 50 mins I had only added another 3 carp, and with odd fish showing across (I'd been feeding 6mms by catty) I picked up the 4x10 rig. This was not much better and despite there being fish right against the mud I could only catch 2 in 30 mins, so I came back to the paste and hoped the far bank would improve later on.
After nearly 2 hours I had nine fish, which I thought would be well off the pace, but Mark Gibson walked around and told me it was doing well on my lake. About halfway through the match I was shipping out on my 4x10 rig when a violent gust of wind blew my pole off the rollers and snapped my no6 section where I had it in my hand. Had I let go of the pole it would of been OK, I just didn't realise what had happened quick enough. Worse was to come, as I the break was so near the male end that I couldn't telescope it enough to push it far enough into the no5 section. I tried not let this mishap do my head in and decided to stick it out on the paste at 5mtr, but then I really had no choice did I....
By cupping in 6mm pellets with my paste hook bait I started to get more interest, and had a good spell right up till an hour to go when for some reason they disappeared. I tried potting in another big cup full of pellet but for 35 mins other than a 2lb skimmer I had no carp. The margin had been tried on and off but I only had one small carp here, which I lost in the reeds, so I stuck with the paste. In the last 20 mins I landed 4 carp as they came back on the fizz, but I lost a 4lb fish pulling too hard. I thought I had 60lb (Rod Wootten was convinced I had a 100lb) which based on previous results would get me no where! I hadn't caught the number of carp I had expected to, but what I had managed to do on the paste was get the odd decent carp to 5lb, certainly a bonus on this lake.
As I waited for the scales I heard the best weight in the first section was 68lb (Pete Sivell) and that the angler on peg 46 was admitting to 70lb and most others were saying less than that. Mike Owens (Thyers) next to me came up for a chat and it turned out he only had 15 carp, but like me had also snapped his no6 section in exactly the same place! When the scales finally arrived (I was last to weigh) 65lb was winning my section, and I was able to beat that weighing 75lb 8oz, that turned out to be the top weight on Yarlington. I won £60 for winning my section, and in the whole match came 8th as Dabinett had fished well with four 100lb+ weights.
1st Rob Jones 127lb 11oz - Dabinett peg 12 paste
2nd Howard Green 127lb 10oz (!) - Dabinett peg 20 paste
3rd Alan Healey 122lb 14oz - Dabinett peg 6 paste
4th Derek Culip 117lb 20z - Dabinett peg 16 paste (he lost 20 carp)
As you see paste is doing the business here!
Well, somehow got to get a new no6 section this week, otherwise I will be wasting my time at Landsend this Sunday, perhaps I'll be wasting my time with a no6 anyway!
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