Welcome to my fishing blog… August 2023
August 27th – Alcove Club Match, George’s Lake, Whitehouse Farm – Peg 17, Right Peg, Wrong Lake, Right Result
I mentioned on the Fish Wag Facebook page yesterday that I thought one or two big carp and between 5 and 10lb of silvers would be needed to win this match. So let’s see how we got on…
It was pretty much a full house again on this latest Alcove AC match with 17 anglers in attendance. After last week’s dire event on the Glossy, I didn’t really care what peg I would be on today as I was quite sure I would catch more than 2lb of fish. After the usual exchange of pleasantries and banter, it was time for the draw and I decided to hold back until only about 6 pegs remained in the draw bag. So, in went the trusty hand of fate and out comes… peg 17.
Well, that’s my favourite peg… on Margaret’s Lake. I didn’t know this peg had been put in on Georges Lake as Tony usually leaves this one out due to a series of poor results in the past. As it happens, I do like this peg and I’ve had a lot of good pleasure weights from it over the years but today… in a match… it was going to be anyone’s guess… a mystery you could say. I do like a mystery. Sometimes I think my whole life is a mystery… (I really gotta stop smoking that wacky baccy man.) – Click on the photo to enlarge.
So, when I got to my peg and surveyed the swim, I decided it was just going to be my usual approach. Line 1 would be under the tree to my left. Line 2 was to be 10 metres out with Steve Dawson on peg 1 as my marker. Line 3 was also to be 10 metres out with Pete Watkins on peg 2 as my marker and line 4 was inside to my right, under the overhanging tree. I had Kev Swanston for company on peg 16 and Clive Hewson on peg 18. I couldn’t see many of the others from my vantage point so I had to keep my ear to the grapevine for news of any carp catches.
So, the swim to my left can only be fished with a pole that you have to push right under the overhanging tree branches. I have had some very big carp from this swim in the past and that’s what I would be targeting today. I always bring my special Garbolino margin pole to Whitehouse Farm and for good reason. Some of the big doubles in this lake are incredibly powerful and your kit has to be up for the job. The rig for this swim was a 0.2gram (4×12) dibber float on 0.22mm Guru N-Gauge (9lb BS) main line with a size 14 Guru Super MWG hook tied to 0.19mm Guru N-Gauge (7lb BS) hooklength. Elastic is a size 24 solid, which works well with a large Brivel connector. The depth here was 3 feet.
For my 10 metre lines, I set up a 0.4gram (4×14) pencil style float rig to 0.15mm main line, which I use as standard for Whitehouse, and to this was attached a size 18 Guru LWG hook to 0.11mm hooklength. Pole elastic for this rig was 4-6 MAP TKS. I’ve been using all types of elastics recently to try and find one that suits ALL my needs… I’m still looking but I’m fast coming to the conclusion that none of them are really fit for the job. I can’t find a brand that produces real high-quality elastic throughout their whole range. I’ve tried Duraslip, Slik, Zipp, TKS, and I’ll be going through the Daiwa range shortly. I just can’t get no… satisfaction… but I’ll try and I’ll…
Before the start of the match, I made a few final tweaks to my kit. For my left-hand line under the tree, I had to have a very short lash from the pole tip to float because there was very little room to strike due to the overhanging branches. I settled on 3 inches, which meant I would need to ensure I held the pole perfectly still and then wait for the elastic to come shooting out. On both 10-metre lines, I was targeting skimmers and as these fussy little fookers fork around with your bait for fecking ages before deciding to eat it, I needed to shot the float tip right down to a dot.
Okay, so with everything ready it was now time for the all-in. I started by popping in a small worm bomb on the Steve Dawson line and a golf ball size nugget of groundbait and dead reds on the Pete Watkins line. My plan was to let these lines settle for 30 minutes before going over them with baited hooks. In the meantime, I started loose-feeding maggles to my right, just under the overhanging tree, fishing at a variety of depths with a single maggle on a size 20 hook. I was trying to catch a few small roach and perch here just to get a few fish in the net. Usually, after a few minutes, you can catch a fish a chuck but not today. After 30 minutes, all I had was 2 small roach and 2 small perch.
It was time to go out long but I would continue to loose-feed a few maggles to my right throughout the match and try again during any quiet periods. So, it was onto the Steve Dawson line with half a small dendrobena. After 10 minutes there were no signs of life here so onto the Pete Watkins line with a single dead red and I got a bite right away from a hungry 6-8 ounce skimmer. Over the next hour, I had about 8 more skimmers of the same size and a few roach. Another quick look on the Steve Dawson line produced nothing so I gave up on this one. Now with 3 hours gone, I had about 4lbs in the net. It was really hard work. Then out of the blue, Dave Manning on peg 15 hooked and landed a big carp. It went just over 14lbs so now I had to turn my attention to carp.
At about 1pm I cupped out some micros and corn under the tree to my left and 20 minutes later I dropped my rig right on top of the feed. About a minute later my elastic was storming out of my pole tip at a rate of knots as a huge carp made a relentless bid for freedom. At first, it headed toward a big bed of lilies further along the left-hand bank. I managed to turn it and so then it headed right out toward the middle of the lake and it didn’t stop. We parted company a few seconds later. The hook was so straightened out I had to put on a new one. Wow! That was a match-winner right there. I cupped out some more micros and corn and left the swim to settle while I went back out onto the Pete Watkins line for a few more small roach and skimmers.
Next, it was time to give the left-hand line another go. I picked out the largest grain of corn I could find and buried the hook in it before carefully pushing my pole out under the low-hanging branches. It was a few minutes before I got any indications that a carp was in residence and then the float dipped. I kind of half-struck at it and missed so I baited the hook again and waited. This time the carp scoffed the bait and the elastic was on its way out once again. I could immediately tell it was another beast of a fish so I played it very carefully, trying not to put too much pressure on it and trying desperately to keep it out in front of me.
It was good 10 minutes before I got the upper hand and the carp began to tire, breaking the surface several times for a gulp of air. Finally, I netted it. I’m not sure how as it was twice as long as the length of my landing net. It was too big to unhook in the net and so I placed it on a small unhooking mat I had at the ready… just in case. I then took it over to Tony to be weighed and returned. It went 18lb 15oz. What a relief. For the remainder of the match I tried for another one but it wasn’t to be. It didn’t matter though… as it appears I did enough to secure a clear victory finishing up with a total of 25lb 12oz. And about time too! 🙂
So, my next match will be next Sunday when we’re all back on The Clamp. That should bring me back down to earth. Keep you posted.
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August 2023
13th – The Clamp, Henfield, Nr Westerleigh
20th – Gloucester Canal, Southfield Farm, Hardwicke
27th – Georges Lake, Whitehouse Farm
September 2023
October 2023
November 2023
December 2023
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