Sunday 6^th July – Ivy House Lakes For A Change Of Scenery And…

Last Thursday, I fished at Windmill Fisheries again. I know, I know, but I just can’t seem to help myself… Anyway, I drew peg 2, which is one of my least favourite pegs on the lake. I seriously considered fishing right over in the reeds at 16 metres, but I didn’t need much persuasion to fish at 11 metres with worm instead. I probably should have stuck to my original choice, but the possibility of losing many fish, together with several lost rigs and maybe even a broken pole section… would it all have been worth it? Guess I’ll never know… but next time maybe.

There were 17 anglers out for this one, which is a hefty crowd for a Thursday and my money was on pegs 14 and 16 to knock up a win. These 2 pegs have been producing good weights for the last few weeks, so it appears many good fish are hanging around these pegs for some reason. Well, having wrestled with my decisions about what to do, I finally settled on an 11-metre line for fishing with worm, a 7-metre line with paste and one edge line with meat. To my right, the edge line was about 18 inches sloping away to 4 feet, but to my left it was only a few inches deep and so I didn’t bother to even consider fishing it.

As usual, I started with bomb and maggle and then changed to bomb and pellet. I probably should have tried a method feeder, but it’s not a method I like very much, despite it being quite effective for some anglers. So, with an hour gone, I had nothing to show for my efforts and so it was onto the worm line, which I had fed right at the start. After an hour on that with no result, I changed to my paste line and within 20 minutes I had my first carp. Then I lost 3 in a row. Problem was, too many fish swimming around at all levels, so foul hookers were always to be expected.  

So it was back onto the worm line and a carp soon obliged followed by another and then a stream of foul hookers there too. Well, long story short… 3 carp on worm and 3 carp on paste. That’s about par for me at the mo. I reckoned I had about 30lbs, which was the same for the anglers on either side of me. It just wasn’t worth a weigh-in, so I chucked back because Adrian Davies on peg 10 had already put 154lbs on the scales and Stuart Barnett on peg 6 had weighed 101lbs. Paul Barnfield, “The Fishing Magician”, on unfancied peg 5, managed to conjure up a 98lb weight and they were all in my section and so it was game over. End of!

Ivy House Match – The Canals

The definition of self-flagellation is spending too much time torturing yourself at Windmill Fisheries, something I’m very familiar with, so it was time to do something else. I had only ever fished the Old Match Lake at Ivy House, so I thought it would be a good idea to book myself in for a match on Kingfisher Lake. Turns out it was on both Kingfisher and Moorhen lakes. Well, as I would be fishing “blind”, it really didn’t matter to me which lake I would be on. I just needed to be in a different environment, surrounded by different people and up for facing a different challenge. A change is as good as a rest, they say, right?

So, I arrived at the complex in good time and then compulsorily purchased a bag of 4mm pellets and a bag of micro fishery pellets. I should have bought a bag of 6mm pellets too, as I learned to my cost later. Well, I deliberately didn’t do any research on these lakes beforehand as I wanted to “suss it out” as I went along. I tried to avoid asking anyone about the canals too although some banter before the draw indicated that Kingfisher had been fishing well and so I thought that’s where I needed to be. So, it was onto the draw and I pulled out peg 30, which was halfway along the bank on Moorhen Lake. As I’m walking along the bank, looking for my peg, anglers are telling me that I’m not in a very good area, but 60lbs is possible… on a good day.

Everyone was saying that Kingfisher was the lake to be on and 100lb nets are expected there… oh well, not to worry. For me, it was all about the experience of fishing a different venue rather than winning, so I wasn’t too deflated by the draw. The pegging was a bit close, though, and those around me were having a good old moan about that. I just scanned the area out in front of me and thought… well, it’s not Windmill and that’s all that mattered. I had lots of options and I wanted to be sure I would be covering all of them but first off I had to know what depths I had to work with.

It was 15 metres to the far side and 14 inches deep there so I set up a 4×10 (0.15gm) rig for that. It was only a metre deep over most of the area from about 2 metres between both banks and so I settled for a line at 9 metres over to my right, where I would fish worm with a 4×14 rig (0.40gm). Then I set up a rig for fishing at 6 metres over to my left, where I intended to fish paste with a light 4×12 rig (0.20 gm). Both edge lines averaged 14 inches deep and for these, I set up a crystal margin dibber. Bait offerings today were worm, paste, pellet and corn. I had also brought a pint of maggles with me in case I needed to top up with silvers or have a go at catching silvers shallow. Fish were cruising around and there were signs of fish right over, so I was feeling quietly confident of getting a few.

On the all-in, I cupped out some chopped worm to the 9 metre line and then attacked the short 6 metre line with paste. I had my first fish within 10 minutes and then 2 more in quick succession before it went a bit quiet. So I decided to have a look right over at 15 metres. It was then that I realised I only had 4mm pellets when I really needed 6mm or even 8mm. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to go to the shop and buy more, as the owner had previously said nobody was allowed to go back to their cars to collect any more keepnets. I took this as meaning you had to stay on your peg for the duration of the match. Anyway, I tried fishing with a banded 4mm pellet and I had a small carp on that. Then I put a grain of corn on and hooked a bigger carp, but lost it in the reeds.

All carp and F1s were between 1lb and 3lb, with most of them around 1.5lb. Apparently, there are a few bigger ones, I was told, but they are quite hard to catch. Well, with the wind picking up and the rain lashing down, I found it uncomfortable and awkward fishing at 15 metres under a brolly, so I went back over the 6 metre line with paste. I had a couple more small carp and a few F1s before, once again, it went a bit quiet. So, a look over the worm line brought an immediate response from a lively 2-pounder, but after spending another 20 minutes on this line, I didn’t get any more indications. At this point, I tried loose feeding maggles and fishing up in the water, but got ragged out by perch and small skimbos. A look down both edges brought nothing, so it was back on the paste line.

So, after 3 hours of faffing about, I had decided to focus entirely on the paste line as this was much more productive. I did, however, begin to feed the margins heavily with corn and maggles so I could check them out now and then in the hope of catching a bonus “biggie”. I found that putting a little groundbait (Scopex) and a few micros in at every put-in on my paste line began to get me more bites. After about 30 minutes, it was like fishing in a Jacuzzi with bubbles all over my feed area. Needless to say, I hooked and lost a lot of fish, but that was the price I had to pay to keep the bites coming steadily. Every now and then, I would rest the swim and try the margins with corn. However, my only prisoner from the edge was a carp of around 2lbs from my right-hand margin. So, it was back on the paste…

I was now catching small carp and F1s with impunity and quite enjoying myself. It seems the more bait I put in, the more fish turned up and the more I caught… and lost. Then all of a sudden, I heard the all-out shout… WTF? Turns out this match was only five and a half hours, but I thought it was a 6-hour match and so I felt robbed just as I was getting into my stride. Well, my clicker said 29lbs but the scales said 32lbs, which wasn’t nearly enough to put the willies up the competition, but I had a good day all the same, which is what I really needed. Takeaways from the match include, I should have had some 6mm pellets with me. I should have fished a bit finer in the margins and shouldn’t have spent so long trying this and that when the short paste line was evidently working right from the off. The feeding pattern just needed refining, which I had eventually sorted, but it was too late by then. Anyway… I’ll be back.

72lbs won the lake from the favoured end peg 27 and 106 lb won the match overall from peg 47 on Kingfisher Lake.

Next Thursday I’ll be back at Windmill for another “Mission Impossible” and then on Sunday 13^th, I’ll be on the River Avon at Staverton. Park behind your peg, no boats, no paddle boarders, no swimmers and no dog walkers. What’s not to like? Oh, perhaps a few fish over the 1-ounce mark would be nice LOL. Keep you posted!

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