Saturday 19th April – Saturday Shield Match, Whitehouse Farm – You Wait 4 Hours And Then All Hell Breaks Loose!

My reports are a bit late this week due to the Easter holidays… Anyway, before I get to the nitty gritty of the Saturday Shield Match, fished over both lakes at Whitehouse Farm, I decided to have a go at the Easter Knock-up on the Match Lake at Windmill Fisheries. Only 9 turned out for this one and at least 4 of those would be fishing for silvers only today. Not me though… I thought a bit of bait presentation practice would put me in good stead for the next Windmill Qualifier on Thursday, 1^st May. So, my bait choices were paste, worm and meat, plus maggles if desperation set in. The carp have been responding lately to both worm and paste, but you can never discount meat down the edge at any time of year.

I wasn’t too bothered where I ended up, with 5 anglers on one side of the lake and 4 on the other, everyone would have plenty of room. As it happens, I drew peg 16 yet again! That makes it 6 or maybe 7 times this year that I have drawn this peg. It’s a good peg with lots of options, so I wasn’t complaining. Once I arrived at my peg and unloaded my barrow, I instinctively went into autopilot, setting up my gear as I had done so many times before. This included a bomb rod for fishing maggles over toward the reeds by the gap between the islands. I’ve had many a carp on that method, but I would only use it today if all else failed. Next, a paste rig for fishing at 9 metres slightly to my right and a worm rig for fishing at 9 metres right over to my left.

No setup would be complete without a rig for fishing both the left and right-hand margins with meat. I also made up some groundbait, which consisted of Power Scopex with a few added micros. I always use this in conjunction with paste fishing and sometimes with worm when fishing for carp. I have used it successfully for fishing down the edge too, with any type of bait on the hook. I’m convinced carp absolutely love it! So, I’m all set and on the all-in, I dropped in a ball of groundbait with a few 4mm pellets onto my paste line. Then I dropped in a ball of choppie onto my worm line. While I waited for all that to settle, I baited my margin rig and had a little poke around the margins on both sides with an 8mm pellet of meat. I gave it 20-30 minutes, but there were no signs of life in the margins.

Next, I tried the paste line. I have a special way of fishing paste and one day I might just reveal what it is, but for now, it remains top secret, highly confidential and classified. Well, I gave it 30 minutes before moving onto the worm line. I did get a few indications on the worm, but I’m sure it was just a few small silvers messing about with the bait. After 30 minutes, I went back onto my paste line and within a few minutes I had a carp on but lost it about a minute later. It had broke me and it was all my own fault. I hadn’t realised I only had a 0.12 hooklength on this rig and I should have changed it over right at the start. (Fooking muppet!) A precious fish was lost, which could have been avoided and would no doubt cost me at the end of the day. Lesson learned.

So, we’re a couple of hours into this 6-hour match and I can tell from the sounds around me that most people are struggling for bites. It doesn’t make sense, really, as it was a lovely warm day and mainly overcast. It had all the makings of a perfect day for fishing, especially with some light and warm winds for a change. Well, with nothing doing, it was time to bring out the big gun. Instead of lobbing out a bomb and maggle, as I usually do, I put on a small maggle feeder and then baited the size 16 hook with 3 reds and away it went. I have a specific little target just next to the edge of the reeds and I hit it first time. There is almost always a fish there and today was no exception. After a couple of casts, the tip shot round and I was in.

A carp of around 7lbs was safely netted and I was finally off the mark. However, a few more chucks to the same spot were fruitless, so it was back onto the paste rig. I did have a couple of lightning-fast bites, but I could tell they didn’t really want paste today, so I decided to abandon this line and focus entirely on the worm line. With half the match gone already and only one carp in the net, it was all getting just a little bit frustrating… once again. So, in goes some meat and micros down both my edge lines. Another look over the worm line brought an instant bite from a small roach! And then on the very next put-in, I had a big skimbo of around 2lbs.

No, no, no… I’m not going for silvers today, thank you. It’s carp or bust! So, out goes 2 worms on the hook this time and after about 10 minutes, I got a proper indication. This was soon followed by a 6lb carp on the hook, which was safely netted. In goes more choppie and another double worm baited hook. 20 minutes later, I’m in again and it’s a foul-hooker, and inevitably, I lost that one. However, the next fish was a lovely big fat 10-pound mirror, which makes it 3 in the net now. It then went a bit quiet, so in goes more choppie, while I try both edge lines again. Well, not a sniff down the edges, so back onto the worm line for the last hour and 2 more carp landed before the all-out shout. That makes 5 carp and a good skimbo plus a small roach for the day.

I must just mention that almost opposite me, on peg 6, was Tony Ponting. I had a good, clear view of him all day and he had an absolute shed load of carp on the hook, catching out in front and from his left-hand margin. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone lose so many carp in a single session… ever! He makes me look like an England International. Judging by how far his elastic was stretching, I think he really needs to beef things up a bit. If he had landed every fish he hooked, he would have won the match easily and convincingly. Anyway, I was so sure I had won the section with my 37-4-0, but apparently I hadn’t heard Dave the organiser say he was paying first and second overall and first and second in the silvers.

Well, that’s not what he did the last time there were 9 fishing… no matter. I finished 4^th on the day and worm was the bait that did the business. Well done to Adrian Davis for winning the day with 111-6-0 and to Pete Greenslade for taking the top silvers prize with 10-1-0.

Saturday Shield, Whitehouse Farm

It was another low turnout for this one, with just 13 fishing across both lakes. The weather wasn’t great, with rain in the morning and a really chilly wind to contend with. The weather did improve, though, as the day went on. So, did I have any preference for which lake I would be on? Oh yes! I wanted to be on Margaret’s Lake and any peg would do. I had been on George’s in the last 2 matches and fancied a change today and that’s what I got. Not only did I draw on Margaret’s, I drew what is arguably the best peg on the lake… peg 6… so no pressure then.

There were only 6 on this lake and 7 on Georges, so everyone had loads of room. There was nobody drawn on peg 5, which is a good thing if you draw peg 6 because there is a spit that divides the pegs and usually the carp will be either on one side or the other, hardly ever on both. I had Don Searle for company on peg 7 and I could see Andy Gard on peg 13 and Bruce Taylor on peg 14. So, with my surroundings duly surveyed, it was time to weigh up my options. I had an island chuck, if I wanted it. I had plenty of wide open space out in front and I had the right-hand edge of the spit. There was also the overhanging bush to my left, if I needed more options.

My main plan of attack was to fish paste out in front at 10 metres and meat down my right-hand side. I did get out my feeder rod for fishing a maggle feeder up against the island, but this wasn’t a priority as my right-hand edge would surely deliver the goods… or so I assumed. So, on the all-in, I dumped out some groundbait and 4mm pellets to the 10-metre line and then I cupped in about 6 pellets of meat down my right-hand edge. I had a quick look on meat on my left-hand edge too, but nothing doing. I carried on probing the right-hand margin along the full length of the spit, which was about 14 metres. Well, with an hour gone already, I had nothing to show, so onto the paste line.

I had some geese out in front of me and they were making a hell of a racket, honking, fighting and chasing off every other water bird in sight. There appeared to be some kind of feud going on between the Canada Geese and the Barnacle Geese and the commotion was really doing my head in. Anyway, I carried on regardless, dropping cadpots full of groundbait and a few micros in at every put-in, but all I was getting were little dinks on the float. These indications were obviously caused by little curious silvers having a sniff around. Then all of a sudden I got a very fast bite, which I missed. So, and because of that, I gave it another hour on this line before finally calling it a day and deciding to concentrate on the right-hand edge.

With more than 2 hours gone and nothing in the net, I must admit I was getting a little concerned. So, I did what I always do in these situations… I made a brew and weighed up the situation. I hadn’t seen anyone else catch anything, although I did hear some splashing from Don’s swim and so I assumed he had caught at least one decent fish. I considered putting a bomb or maggle feeder out toward the island, but the geese were right in front of me and so I would have had to cast well over to one side or the other to avoid them. Anyway, I had set my sights on carp only today and this was probably the best carp peg on the lake. I convinced myself to keep plugging away on the right-hand spit for a couple of ‘munters’… hopefully.

Well, another hour gone and still no bites along the spit. So, I tried the paste line one more time and still nothing there. Next, my left-hand margin came under scrutiny as I probed around with both meat and paste, but still nothing. A change to maggle on the hook got an instant response from a micro perch, followed by a roach of around 4 ounces. WTF was going on? I’ve never known this lake to be so hard and especially at this time of year. With almost 4 hours of the match gone, I was now torn between packing up and sloping off home without anyone noticing or picking up that damn feeder rod and get out there amongst the geese. The day was turning into a wild goose chase anyway, so what the hell!

I cupped out some more meat and micros down my right-hand edge and then lobbed out a small Drennan Black Cap maggle feeder with 3 maggles on the hook. I was actually putting the feeder between 2 geese and about half a metre away from the edge of the island. Pin-point accurate casting was the name of the game. After 3 casts, I got a proper wrap round and a 2lb plus chub was netted. About 10 minutes later, I had another and then nothing for the next couple of casts. So, a quick look down my right-hand edge and fook me! The float dived under and a 2lb plus tench was eventually netted. It fought every inch of the way to the net and then some. That was a welcome surprise. I haven’t caught a tench in this lake for at least 2 years!

Well, finally, something positive was happening. So, another cast toward the island and 10-15 minutes later, another chub obliged. This one was nearer the 3lb mark. Then a major scrap broke out between the 2 tribes of geese and as luck would have it, the Canada Geese gave chase after the Barnacle Geese and so the area out in front of me was now completely clear of angry birds. That allowed me to cast the feeder close to an overhanging tree, from which I extracted 2 more good-sized chub. However, after another half dozen casts, the geese returned and now time was quickly slipping away. My final decision rested on whether I should carry on and hope for one more chub or put down the feeder rod and pole some meat down the edge again.

I opted for the latter. With just 30 minutes left on the clock, I lowered in a pellet of meat over the already heavily baited area, which was about halfway along the spit. I just waited… and waited… and waited… and then suddenly the float disappeared in a flash. My reaction was instantaneous and finally… I was into a carp. This was a big fish, which I didn’t want to bully for fear of losing it and so I carefully played it, as it made full use of all the space out in front and to the sides. I was still playing it after the all-out and I think I would have still been playing it right now if I hadn’t put on just enough pressure to get its head up. Well, finally, a nice double-figure common was safely netted and a deep sigh of relief filled the air.

That was a really tough first 4 hours, but after making a few right decisions, I’m glad I sat it out till the end. Perseverance pays! My net of silvers weighed 17-8-0 and my only carp weighed 13-12-0, giving me a total of 31-4-0 for a lake win and second overall in the match. George’s Lake fished much better than Margaret’s for silvers, with some 20lb plus weights hitting the scales. Well done to match secretary, Jason Pitman for winning overall (again) from peg 6 on George’s with a total of 45-03-0, and well done to all the framers, especially those on Margaret’s lake who had to work really hard for their spoils.

Well, that’s it for a while. No match for me on Thursday, but I’ll be back on the Windmill Match lake next Sunday for another thrilling open… keep you posted.

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