April / May 1992

Getting bored with day time TV now and daily visits to get my wounds dressed, so here's a blog...

After my trip to Northern Ireland I had booked myself in for some more travelling as I was going to fish a league at a place called Porth Reservoir. I arrived at the venue for the first match and nearly choked when I saw the size of the water! I had little knowledge of the venue but it was going to be suck it and see for most people. I drew peg 23 and set my stall out on the open feeder. I fished with a size 20 hook to 0.10 hook length and cast about 35 yards out. Bites were very hard to get and all I could catch were small roach and tiny skimmers, but all around me were struggling too. A single maggot was best either red or fluro, and in the end my 3lb 3oz was worth 8 points out of 11 so not a bad start. This match was won with 109lb of bream.

One week later and back at Porth but this time on the other side of the lake on peg 99, this is a shallow area but can be good when warm as you are up by the nature reserve. I cast a feeder further out here 40+ yds and went with an 18 and 1.5lb maxima in the hope of better size fish. It sort of paid off as I caught 1 bream and skimmers all on a red maggot and worm for 9lb 14oz and 9 points. Peg 67 to 72 were hot with 112lb winning this match.

It was 3 weeks before the next Porth match and as this was to be fished on the May bank holiday Monday I decided to take the girlfriend down for the weekend. On the Sunday I pleasure fished a lake called Rosewater, a few hours here on a waggler with maggots produced 7 tench, 3 chub and some small roach and rudd, which impressed the girlfriend! Monday and peg 84 at Porth was a good draw for me and the girlfriend (in the sun). It was once again going to be all about the feeder, but I only cast 25 yds today and settled on an 18 with 0.10. The first 3 hours saw fish come in odd spells, the bites were very finicky which I put down to the bright sunshine, the last 2 hours were dead. The lake had fished hard and my 9lb 6oz not only won the section but got me in the frame 4th, almost paying for the weekend away.

The following Sunday I was back again at Porth and feeling very confident when I pulled peg 89. I had put my recent good results down to a new groundbait I was using, Sensas Bream 3000, and it was to become my choice of bream gbait for many years. This match was memorable as I had an angler called Clint Elliot on my left, I didn't know him, but he made me laugh by cracking off twice during the day and getting a lot of stick from people as I battered him. I started this match back on a 18 and 1.5lb maxima (can't recall why, I think I thought there might be a chance of bream and 0.1 might be a bit light) and cast a good 30 yds. I had a nice steady start to the match catching small skimmers and a little tench and a bream after 90 mins. Three hours in and things suddenly went quiet, I decided to tie up a 20 on 0.10 to see if I could pick up a few more fish, but before I could finish the hook length the tip had bent right round and I had a bream. I had 3 more bream in the next 3 casts before they disappeared. I ended the match with a few more small skimmers and weighed 30lb for a match win.

In keeping with my good run of draws (hee hee) I pulled peg 83 on the penultimate round. The pole was now producing a lot of fish but I stuck to my feeder and Sensas Bream 3000 approach. Once again I snared a slab and along with skimmers weighed 12lb 1oz to win the section and come 5th overall. I was now in with a good shout of doing well in the league as long as I could avoid a disaster. However, lady luck deserted me on the final round, I drew peg 6 in the trees and the girlfriend was not impressed as she was froze. I lost a huge fish on the pole and and only had 2 small skimmers all day long. I ended the league in joint 5th on points but 8th on weight and out of the money. Gutted to say the least, but other than the last match I'd enjoyed myself at Porth during the closed season of 1992.