Welcome to my fishing blog… July 2023
July 16th – Windmill Fishery – A Woeful Windmill Once Again
With no club matches this weekend, well apart from an Alcove v Silver Bream match at Tortworth, which I didn’t really fancy, it was back to Windmill Fishery for me. I had a quick chat with Dave Haines, the Fishery Manager, before the draw and he told me that the best weights were coming from the pegs at the sides and not at the ends, which is where they had been coming from recently. My preference was for pegs 4,6, 8 or 14 but lady luck gave me peg 11… again!
I drew peg 11 last time I was here and I didn’t have a bite. That’s probably because I wasn’t bold enough to stick my pole right into the reed bed on the right-hand side, which is where the carp live. I’ve seen a couple of poles get broken on this peg but if I wanted to catch something then I would have to take the risk. I set up a 0.4gram pencil float rig for fishing out in front at 9 metres and a 0.2grm dibber float rig for fishing inside both left and right. I also set up a bomb rod for fishing against the island.
There were 19 fishing today and I had a good view of most of them except for the guy on peg 12. I could only see his pole tip. I think peg 12 always throws up a good weight regardless of what’s happening elsewhere, so long as you know what you’re doing. So, on the all-in, I cupped out some micros and 6mm pellets to the 9-metre line. Next, I cupped out some corn and groundbait to my left-hand margin. I didn’t really expect to get anything here as there were no features.
To my right, and tight inside the reeds, I cupped some meat and micros. I started on the 9-metre line trying a wide range of baits but after 30 minutes I had lost 2 carp, foul hookers for sure. I spent the next 30 minutes down the left-hand margin and again tried a range of baits but there was no sign of life there. I hadn’t seen any carp caught anywhere else so it was all square after an hour. Next, I baited the hook with a 10mm pellet of meat and gingerly pushed my rig out into the reed bed. I didn’t have to wait long before I was in.
Well, that was the last I saw of my rig. The hooked carp shot deep into the reed bed, parting the reeds as it plowed through. I had to pull for a break. With another rig set up I repeated the process but this time I tried holding back just shy of the reeds. That wasn’t any good as I couldn’t get a bite there. So, once again I pushed the rig into the reeds and straight away I was in. I managed to get this one out but only because it was around 3lbs so it wasn’t too difficult.
I decided I would just persevere on this for the rest of the match as there were obviously plenty of carp in the reeds and it was just a case of getting them out. That sounds a lot easier than it actually was. On the very next put-in, I lost another rig to a big carp. I tried laying a trail of bait from deep inside the reeds to just on the edge but the carp weren’t having any of it. It was a case of either getting well in or no bites. Well, basically this is how the match went for me…
For every carp I managed to get out, I probably lost 2 or 3 more. I lost 4 rigs in total so it was a very frustrating day and I ended up with just 32lbs. I was very surprised to see that the guy on peg 12 had not weighed in. I think he only had one carp and a few silvers so I don’t think he fished it quite right. The best weights came from pegs at each side just like Dave had said earlier with peg 16 producing 196lbs for Windmill ace Shawn Townsend.
I’ll be back at Whitehouse Farm next week for a charity open match. It’s the Ian Chapple Memorial and will be fished across both lakes. This event usually attracts about 30 anglers and I’m looking forward to it… keep you posted.
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About me
January 2023
February 2023
March 2023
April 2023
May 2023
June 2023
July 2023
9th – River Avon, Staverton Meadows
16th – Windmill Fishery, Westerleigh
23rd – Whitehouse Farm, Earthcott Green
30th – Warks Avon, Stratford-on-Avon
August 2023
September 2023
October 2023
November 2023
December 2023
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