Sorry there was no blog last week, I was over to Munich again and intended to look at my diary for an old blog but ran out of time. This Sunday I made my own way down to Acorn as Glenn had gone off for a few days holiday (he did fish Acorn on Saturday but best not mention he DNW). The weather forecast said it would feel very cold and so I chucked a couple of extra layers on, but I ended taking them off as it was quite pleasant I thought.
I was going to be on the dog bone lake this week, and when I arrived at the fishery I drove up to the lake and parked my car near the bridge, close to peg 4 which was the peg I wanted to draw as it had won the lake the last 3 rounds. I also fancied end peg 8 for a weight of carp. At the draw my section was first to pull the pegs, I stuck my mit in the ice cream tub and found peg 7 looking back at me which I thought meant I would be fishing for 3rd at best. I watched some of the other lads draw and league leader Pete Bartlett did a Rolf Harris by getting a bridge peg, fair shout.
Getting to my peg I had Glen Calvert on end peg 8 (who said he really wanted to fish for silvers) and Pete Lasson on the other side of me (I drew this peg in the first round), Matty Toomes was on peg 4 and I couldn't see him messing that peg up. I mixed up a bit of groundbait which was never used, prepared some micros and set about making up some rigs. A 4x12 slim bristle job with 0.1 to 18 PR412 was for skimmers at 11mtr and 13 mtr to my right. A 4x12 with 0.12 and 18 B911 for across the far bank, and lastly a 4x10 Durafloat 10 for across but off the bottom again with 18 to 0.12. To start the match I fed micros at 11mtr and the 13mtr line to might right, and some across the far bank in a couple of spots. I decided to look across straight away and let the "skimmers" settle on the other lines. 15 mins later and I had no bites across, onto 11mtr and no bites, though after 30 mins I did see the float go under and a 2lb carp was netted. At this stage Glen was getting a bite across every chuck, and I could see the anglers below the bridge were all catching. In the next 30 mins I found 2 skimmers in 2 chucks and then 1 small carp across.
90 mins into the match and things were grim, the only person I was beating was Pete on 6, I had tried various hook baits and fed one line heavier than the other, but nothing was working. Glenn Bailey had rung me and didn't talk for long as I think I was a tad "pissed off" with my lot, lol! As Glen Calvert was catching odd fish and there were carp topping occasionally in his swim I decided to make some noise! Out came the catty and I started firing 4mm pellets to the far bank in an attempt to draw some fish into my devoid swim. I gave it 20 mins and then dropped the 4x12 rig right over with a soft pellet, the float went under, and for the next hour it continued to go under steadily. I was catching carp from 4oz to 2lb and took a few shallow on the 4x10 rig too, but then all of a sudden it slowed up and so I rested this line and tried the open water swims (including a caster line at 5m which yielded a see through rudd!). No bites in the open water, so after 15 mins I went back across but it was still very quiet, I then decided to try my skimmer rig about a metre off the far bank where some pellets fall short from the catty feeding (quite a few with my rubbish accuracy!). This was a good move and I then caught steadily here until an hour to go when the wind got up very badly and ruined the presentation. I tried bigger floats and line on the deck but only managed 4 small carp and lost 4 foulers in the last hour.
I knew I 'd been beaten by Matty on peg 4 (he ended with 61lb) but was not sure about the others, in the end I weighed 50lb 1oz which included 9lb of silvers (skimmers and 3 big F1's) and that was good enough for 2nd. Glen on the end had 36lb and he had 22lb of silvers, Pete was last with 11lb. Mark Bromsgrove won the silvers again with a nice 35lb net and has won the silvers section every match!
The league overall will be headed by Pete Bartlett as he won his section again, see Chris Fox's blog for full results. Overall young Joe McMahon won with 104lb from bridge peg 40, pellet shallow, well don Joe!
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Acorn Pole Only Series Round 3
I woke up at 7am Sunday morning feeling tired, I had not been at the beer the night before but simply had woken up a number of times in the night by the noise of the wind. The forecast was for strong winds all day and so being pole only it was going to be hard work unless I drew a sheltered peg, and I guessed there would be two in my section peg 27 and 36. Glenn Bailey was driving today and he had to avoid the potholes as he had a big crack in his windscreen, the crack did not get bigger so well done drive!
The talk at the draw was that peg 27 would be good as you'd be able to present the rigs properly, the bridge pegs would be very windy. After a breakfast I had to wait for D section anglers to draw and watch who drew the flyers in B section, Glenn had 6 which can be very good, but had been tough the day before. My turn came and I pulled out peg 30 which is in a poor area and as a result has two empty pegs either side. Tony Rixon drew 27 (so was next to me) and Mark Bromsgrove drew sheltered peg 36. Arriving at my peg I was quite pleased by the space I had, and also the fact that although the wind was strong I'd be able to fish the far bank if it didn't get much worse.
I set up 3 rigs today, an old Preston float design (like the Preston yellow) which was 4x14 and was to be used for fishing at 11mtrs across just down the far shelf in about 3ft of water, a 16 B911 to 0.128 Exceed would do for most hookbaits. A 4x12 Durafloat with the same terminal tackle was used for the margins, and 0.75g job for silvers deep was also set up but I never had a bite on it. I had to decided to start the match fishing across as I was concerned the wind might get so bad I would not be able to fish it later, I fed a mix of micros and corn here. I fed the same mix (but a lot more of each, about 30 pieces of corn) in the margins left and right. Gbait was fed in two spots but as I said it didn't work. Shipping across with a piece of corn on the wind was buffeting the pole, I was using corn in the hope of anchoring the bait as the wind was blowing from right to left and pushing the water through. It didn't take me long to get a bite and a carp of around a 1lb, but it was proving tricky to keep the rig still. After the first hour I had 6 carp to 2lb and had lost 3 foulers.
The second hour was about the same as the first, and to give you some idea of the strength of the wind I fed across using my cupping kit rather than a toss pot. Meanwhile Tony on 27 was sat in the calm but he was a good few fish behind me already. From what I could see it was fishing hard, certainly Mat Toomes and Shawn Kitteridge had very little and the lads on the bridge pegs were no better. Due to this I decided to persevere fishing across in the wind, and in third hour I had probably 7 carp but then indications and bites really slowed and I gave it a rest. The margin to my right (by the pallet in peg 29) didn't produce anything all match, but at 5mtrs to my left I sneaked out 2 small carp in as many casts. The wind then began to ease down and continued to do so, my bites across were now hard to get, but as the tow was now reduced I changed to a soft pellet hookbait and fed only micros via a toss pot and I started catching the small carp again. The last hour and my peg was now flat calm and the far bank line went to pot with just the odd tiny skimmer and an F1. I did manage 3 more carp down my margin though, with the last 2 coming in the last 10 mins.
I knew I beaten all the anglers I could see but I did not know how pegs 36 and 38 had faired, Tony reckoned I had 80lb, I didn't think so. The scales turned up (after a very long time!) and Shawn (standing in for Dave Wride) only had 7lb, then Tony weighed 37lb. My fish went just over 60lb which was certainly a lot more than I had expected before the match started. Mark Bromsgrove on peg 36 had the top silvers weight and in total 47lb and the lad on 38 weighed about 50lb (which he had most of in the last 2 hours) and so I had won the section. Mike Owen won the match from peg 7 with about 80lb, Glenn did not fair so well on peg 6 and had 25lb.
A good day today, and whilst we can never be sure, I think that what went my way was there were some fish in my peg to begin with, fishing corn and a heavier float with thicker tip helped presentation. Also the guys on the bridge pegs were not fishing the far bank early on (due to the wind) and maybe a few fish swam past them up to me and I stopped them from going into Tony's peg. I didn't feed much bait, less than half a tin of corn and about a 1/3 of a pint of micro, and the catty stayed in the bag (Tony, lol!). Three more matches to go in the league but in both carp and silvers there are anglers with three section wins. Full results on Chris Fox's blog.
The talk at the draw was that peg 27 would be good as you'd be able to present the rigs properly, the bridge pegs would be very windy. After a breakfast I had to wait for D section anglers to draw and watch who drew the flyers in B section, Glenn had 6 which can be very good, but had been tough the day before. My turn came and I pulled out peg 30 which is in a poor area and as a result has two empty pegs either side. Tony Rixon drew 27 (so was next to me) and Mark Bromsgrove drew sheltered peg 36. Arriving at my peg I was quite pleased by the space I had, and also the fact that although the wind was strong I'd be able to fish the far bank if it didn't get much worse.
I set up 3 rigs today, an old Preston float design (like the Preston yellow) which was 4x14 and was to be used for fishing at 11mtrs across just down the far shelf in about 3ft of water, a 16 B911 to 0.128 Exceed would do for most hookbaits. A 4x12 Durafloat with the same terminal tackle was used for the margins, and 0.75g job for silvers deep was also set up but I never had a bite on it. I had to decided to start the match fishing across as I was concerned the wind might get so bad I would not be able to fish it later, I fed a mix of micros and corn here. I fed the same mix (but a lot more of each, about 30 pieces of corn) in the margins left and right. Gbait was fed in two spots but as I said it didn't work. Shipping across with a piece of corn on the wind was buffeting the pole, I was using corn in the hope of anchoring the bait as the wind was blowing from right to left and pushing the water through. It didn't take me long to get a bite and a carp of around a 1lb, but it was proving tricky to keep the rig still. After the first hour I had 6 carp to 2lb and had lost 3 foulers.
The second hour was about the same as the first, and to give you some idea of the strength of the wind I fed across using my cupping kit rather than a toss pot. Meanwhile Tony on 27 was sat in the calm but he was a good few fish behind me already. From what I could see it was fishing hard, certainly Mat Toomes and Shawn Kitteridge had very little and the lads on the bridge pegs were no better. Due to this I decided to persevere fishing across in the wind, and in third hour I had probably 7 carp but then indications and bites really slowed and I gave it a rest. The margin to my right (by the pallet in peg 29) didn't produce anything all match, but at 5mtrs to my left I sneaked out 2 small carp in as many casts. The wind then began to ease down and continued to do so, my bites across were now hard to get, but as the tow was now reduced I changed to a soft pellet hookbait and fed only micros via a toss pot and I started catching the small carp again. The last hour and my peg was now flat calm and the far bank line went to pot with just the odd tiny skimmer and an F1. I did manage 3 more carp down my margin though, with the last 2 coming in the last 10 mins.
I knew I beaten all the anglers I could see but I did not know how pegs 36 and 38 had faired, Tony reckoned I had 80lb, I didn't think so. The scales turned up (after a very long time!) and Shawn (standing in for Dave Wride) only had 7lb, then Tony weighed 37lb. My fish went just over 60lb which was certainly a lot more than I had expected before the match started. Mark Bromsgrove on peg 36 had the top silvers weight and in total 47lb and the lad on 38 weighed about 50lb (which he had most of in the last 2 hours) and so I had won the section. Mike Owen won the match from peg 7 with about 80lb, Glenn did not fair so well on peg 6 and had 25lb.
A good day today, and whilst we can never be sure, I think that what went my way was there were some fish in my peg to begin with, fishing corn and a heavier float with thicker tip helped presentation. Also the guys on the bridge pegs were not fishing the far bank early on (due to the wind) and maybe a few fish swam past them up to me and I stopped them from going into Tony's peg. I didn't feed much bait, less than half a tin of corn and about a 1/3 of a pint of micro, and the catty stayed in the bag (Tony, lol!). Three more matches to go in the league but in both carp and silvers there are anglers with three section wins. Full results on Chris Fox's blog.
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Landsend Fishery
I was hoping that this weekend would be the one where the weather would finally break and spring would arrive, well it wasn't too bad but the thermals were still put to use. I managed to ponce a lift off Bathampton legend Shaun Townsend, a good choice for info as he had won here last week. It was a pleasant trip apart from the warning buzzer that went off every few seconds due to a dodgy handbrake!!!
After a good brekkie at Shipham we arrived at the venue with a bit of time to spare, although Mr Rixon was keen to get our pools money! I was at the back of the draw queue more or less, and when I reached the bucket there were only about 4 pegs left in, luckily I drew the best one left in, 41. This is the first peg on the third lake up the left hand side and has a nice corner and island to fish to, and on the way to the peg I was told I could win the match, win the silvers, and this and that..... yep heard all that before! Here is the view of the corner of my peg, pretty sexy!
Tony Rixon was once again in my section and once again on a much inferior peg on 46, he said I should catch plenty but could get plagued by roach. Setting up today I found myself picking up the usual 0.3grm PB Inter with with a wire stem, this was for 13m in the deep water off the point of the island, with a 16 PR412 to 0.10. A 4x12 PB carp 4 for across to the point and it was the same depth down in the corner, a 16 B911 to 0.12 did for this. I also set up a 4x10 PB carp 4 for up shallow. My neighbours today were opposite on 70 Phil 'Fabio' Harding, and on 42 was Les Williams.
To start the match I fed micros out on the 13m deep line, a mix of casters and micros up by the island (not really an island though it's a spit!) and some corn and pellet down in the corner and in my right hand margin. Shipping out with a soft pellet the float never settled and a little roach was attached, next chuck the same, and then a few missed bites / bumped roach. This was not really the start I wanted, so I fed some soften 4mm pellets in with some more micros to try and find a better fish. Things improved slightly as I started to get the odd hand sized skimmer and the roach were a little bigger, a 12oz carp also put in an appearance. After an hour I was being well beaten by all around, especially Dave Roper on 68 who had landed a couple of double figure carp. I persevered with the deep swim thinking the better F1's and crucians would turn up. An hour later and it was still roach and small skimmers (all swung bar one) and I felt the size of fish was not big enough to do me any good in the silvers. I fed more pellets here and tried my line against the spit with double caster.... the float never cocked and a small roach was hooked, same again and after 3 drops so I put a piece of corn on. An F1 graced the net and I thought here we go, but a long wait on the corn then brought a 6oz roach. This was frustrating for me, but I never realised how tough the fishing was for most and instead of trying to avoid the roach I should have kept on going!
With 2 1/2 hours gone I looked down in the corner on a bit of corn and the float shot straight under with a little 1lb carp, and I took another 3 here fairly quickly before I pulled out of one and then had a 8oz tench and then I gave it a rest. The margin line was useless and never gave me a bite all day, and across at 13m the wind was now quite bad blowing my float away from me and that made catching on soft pellet too hard. I spent the rest of match chasing the small carp in the corner, ending with about 15 of them including a few up in the water, but it was very slow going and I still had the odd roach down here, plus 3 more tiny tench and another F1. I also lost about 5 hook lengths where I got to close to the trees and hooked up in underwater snags!
Fabio had a good go for the carp in the margin, but he never had one (see him striking a pose below!) but he did mug a near 15lb fish with about 30 mins to go!
Tony soon arrived with the scales and I weighed 26lb of carp and 12lb 13oz of silvers for 38lb 12oz, and all in all I thought I had done poorly off this peg, not really getting myself in gear for either silvers or carp. Tony was quick to point out that I had been busy and had a lot better day than him and many others. That was certainly true, but I felt I had fished a poor match. Dave Roper won our lake with 97lb of lumps on either corn or meat, Fabio had 60lb and Les had 8lb. Luckily for me I won the lake silvers and got a pick up for this.
The silvers overall winner had 17lb, and had I just got my head down on those roach and skimmers I would have done that, but there you go I thought 30lb would be needed and I talked myself out of it, lol!
Trigger had a great day on 22 with 220lb (he was top in silvers too) carp deep and then shallow, so spring must be here surely? Shaun did really well on Speci peg 29 to win the lake with 57lb, not a good peg of late and the lake was very hard. Shaun might have caught more but he told us that his casters froze in the water in his baitbox before the match, nobody believed him as there was no frost!
Tony and Mike have the full result of this match. I'm just happy that I keep drawing better pegs than Tony cos he is very hard to beat, next week at Acorn he is in my section again and I fear he may be looking for revenge!
After a good brekkie at Shipham we arrived at the venue with a bit of time to spare, although Mr Rixon was keen to get our pools money! I was at the back of the draw queue more or less, and when I reached the bucket there were only about 4 pegs left in, luckily I drew the best one left in, 41. This is the first peg on the third lake up the left hand side and has a nice corner and island to fish to, and on the way to the peg I was told I could win the match, win the silvers, and this and that..... yep heard all that before! Here is the view of the corner of my peg, pretty sexy!
Tony Rixon was once again in my section and once again on a much inferior peg on 46, he said I should catch plenty but could get plagued by roach. Setting up today I found myself picking up the usual 0.3grm PB Inter with with a wire stem, this was for 13m in the deep water off the point of the island, with a 16 PR412 to 0.10. A 4x12 PB carp 4 for across to the point and it was the same depth down in the corner, a 16 B911 to 0.12 did for this. I also set up a 4x10 PB carp 4 for up shallow. My neighbours today were opposite on 70 Phil 'Fabio' Harding, and on 42 was Les Williams.
To start the match I fed micros out on the 13m deep line, a mix of casters and micros up by the island (not really an island though it's a spit!) and some corn and pellet down in the corner and in my right hand margin. Shipping out with a soft pellet the float never settled and a little roach was attached, next chuck the same, and then a few missed bites / bumped roach. This was not really the start I wanted, so I fed some soften 4mm pellets in with some more micros to try and find a better fish. Things improved slightly as I started to get the odd hand sized skimmer and the roach were a little bigger, a 12oz carp also put in an appearance. After an hour I was being well beaten by all around, especially Dave Roper on 68 who had landed a couple of double figure carp. I persevered with the deep swim thinking the better F1's and crucians would turn up. An hour later and it was still roach and small skimmers (all swung bar one) and I felt the size of fish was not big enough to do me any good in the silvers. I fed more pellets here and tried my line against the spit with double caster.... the float never cocked and a small roach was hooked, same again and after 3 drops so I put a piece of corn on. An F1 graced the net and I thought here we go, but a long wait on the corn then brought a 6oz roach. This was frustrating for me, but I never realised how tough the fishing was for most and instead of trying to avoid the roach I should have kept on going!
With 2 1/2 hours gone I looked down in the corner on a bit of corn and the float shot straight under with a little 1lb carp, and I took another 3 here fairly quickly before I pulled out of one and then had a 8oz tench and then I gave it a rest. The margin line was useless and never gave me a bite all day, and across at 13m the wind was now quite bad blowing my float away from me and that made catching on soft pellet too hard. I spent the rest of match chasing the small carp in the corner, ending with about 15 of them including a few up in the water, but it was very slow going and I still had the odd roach down here, plus 3 more tiny tench and another F1. I also lost about 5 hook lengths where I got to close to the trees and hooked up in underwater snags!
Fabio had a good go for the carp in the margin, but he never had one (see him striking a pose below!) but he did mug a near 15lb fish with about 30 mins to go!
Tony soon arrived with the scales and I weighed 26lb of carp and 12lb 13oz of silvers for 38lb 12oz, and all in all I thought I had done poorly off this peg, not really getting myself in gear for either silvers or carp. Tony was quick to point out that I had been busy and had a lot better day than him and many others. That was certainly true, but I felt I had fished a poor match. Dave Roper won our lake with 97lb of lumps on either corn or meat, Fabio had 60lb and Les had 8lb. Luckily for me I won the lake silvers and got a pick up for this.
The silvers overall winner had 17lb, and had I just got my head down on those roach and skimmers I would have done that, but there you go I thought 30lb would be needed and I talked myself out of it, lol!
Trigger had a great day on 22 with 220lb (he was top in silvers too) carp deep and then shallow, so spring must be here surely? Shaun did really well on Speci peg 29 to win the lake with 57lb, not a good peg of late and the lake was very hard. Shaun might have caught more but he told us that his casters froze in the water in his baitbox before the match, nobody believed him as there was no frost!
Tony and Mike have the full result of this match. I'm just happy that I keep drawing better pegs than Tony cos he is very hard to beat, next week at Acorn he is in my section again and I fear he may be looking for revenge!
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