Sunday 25^th August – Georges Lake, Whitehouse Farm – Carp Or Bust!

I deliberately delayed this latest blog post so I could include my latest venture, which saw me competing in a friendly little match out at Harescombe Fisheries, near Stroud. That means 3 reports this week!

So, starting with Windmill Fisheries on the 22^nd. This was another Costcutter 500 and as I’ve already qualified, I like to use these matches for practicing with a few new baits and techniques. Regular readers will know I’ve been working on perfecting my paste presentation… with mixed success, I should add. Wherever I would be drawn today I was going to fish paste out in front and meat down the edges. Well, I only drew peg 25… again. I drew this peg on the last match and I struggled, although I did manage to win my section… only just!

So, today was just going to be the same old, same old, except for one thing. My plan was to catch a few carp early. The previous week I had noticed signs of carp mooching around in the left-hand side reed bed. I did have a half-hearted attempt at trying to catch one slapping a rig close to the reeds but then I lost the rig and gave up… all too soon on reflection. This time I was going to have a proper go for them with meat dropped in close to the reeds but just far enough away to give myself a chance. I also set up a maggle feeder for the island but didn’t really expect to use it.

My main rigs were already set up from last time. One out in front at 8 metres for fishing paste and one to my left at 10 metres for fishing pellet. I had Paul (Barney) Barnfield to my left on peg 1, who was about to give me a masterclass on catching carp with worms. I would be taking notes. So, on the all-in, I dropped a 10mm pellet of meat down the left-hand edge as close to the reeds as I dared. I didn’t loose-feed as I’m sure this spooks them early on. Well, I didn’t have to wait long before a 4-pounder was safely netted. I had 2 more soon after and I reckoned I had about 15 pounds in the net in the first 30 minutes, much to Paul’s surprise… and mine!

After that, the fish backed off into the safety of the reed bed and I wasn’t prepared to go in after them. I kept lightly feeding both my paste line and pellet line but there were no signs so I dropped some meat into my right-hand margin and gave that a try. I did have a couple of suspicious enquiries but nothing positive so I went back onto the paste line. A few minutes later I foul-hooked a carp, which was at least an indication that the fish were beginning to show some interest. However, it was all too slow and Paul began to bag up now leaving me in his wake. It was really frustrating, just like last time, only more so this time because the fish just would not feed properly.

I gave up on the pellet line as after 2 hours there was not one single sign of life. Another look down the right-hand edge brought a good 8-pounder but after that, I only had a few lightning-fast bites, which were easy to miss or difficult to hit, depending on which way your bread is buttered. Well, I finally got one on the paste line with less than an hour to go and then another 2 to wrap up a really mind-numbing session. I finished up with 35lb (I think), for nowhere. Well done to Paul for clinching the deal with a stunning 82-14-0.

Sunday 25^th – Alcove Match, Georges Lake

My next match was the Alcove Club match on Georges Lake. There were 11 anglers on this one and for only the second time ever, I drew peg 8. This is a shallow area behind the small island and options are limited. I had to think long and hard about whether I had fished this peg before, and I had… about 10 years ago! Well, the last time I fished this peg there were a lot of lilies around and I remember losing carp all day long. Not so today… there were no lilies and virtually no fish!

My plan was to first target the stubborn chub that resides around the small island. A maggle feeder was the weapon of choice for this ‘special operation’. My next line of attack was to fish pole at 11 metres for skimbos and anything else. To my right-hand margin, there was an overhanging bush but it was overhanging just a little too much. So, I abandoned this option in favour of my left-hand side, which had little cover apart from a tiny group of lily leaves about 7 metres along the bank.

On plumbing up, I found I only had about 4 feet of water out at 11 metres and knowing that the bigger skimbos prefer the deeper water, I was going to be in for a tough day. Nothing new there then lol! My left-hand margin was 2 feet deep so, just about right. My pole rig consisted of a 4×12 (0.2gram) pencil float, 0.15 Guru N-Gauge main line and a size 16 hook to 0.13 hooklength. I decided to fish tiny balls of paste on my 11-metre line for any skimbos. If that didn’t work then I would change down to a size 20 and fish a single maggle. However, for the first 30 minutes, I would fish the whip and try to get a few roach in the net.

30 minutes later and not a single bite on the whip. That confirmed my worst fears. A hard day was defo on the cards. Next, I lobbed out the maggle feeder toward the island. Then 30 minutes later, I had one small roach and one small skimbo. Fook me I thought, “This was going to be harder than expected.” Well, I had already primed the pole line with some Scopex and micros and now it was time to take a look. On the first put-in, I had a bite and an 8-ounce skimbo in the net. I had about 5 or 6 over the next hour but had to wait so long between bites. So, we’re into the third hour of this 6-hour match already and I decided to start feeding my left-hand edge with a few 10mm pellets of meat.

On the first look, I had a small chub of around 8 ounces, which was quickly followed by another. Then nothing for a while. I went back onto the 11-metre line and only had a small roach. Meanwhile, Kev Murch who had drawn on peg 7 was grappling with a near 20-pounder. I could see fish being caught all over the lake so that was a bit frustrating as I was really struggling for bites. Next, I dropped about 20 pellets of meat in the edge and went straight over it. A few indications put me on alert and soon after I was tussling with a carp, which I thought was about 12lbs. I dropped in some more meat and then went back onto the pole line, only now I had changed down to a size 20 hook with a 0.11 hooklength.

The swim was finally fizzing now with what I thought were skimbo bubbles. It turned out to be a carp but I had just changed to a single maggle bait and lighter gear and so I was in a bit of a pickle. Luckily I had the sense to use a top 2 with 8-10 elastic, which helped to cushion every lunge. All I could do was steer this fish away from the banks and the island until tired. Well, 15 minutes later I slipped the net under what I thought was an 8-pounder. Kev had now caught 2 more biggies and was putting some distance between me and most of the other anglers. All I had in the last hour was 2 more skimbos. On the weigh-in, I reckoned I had 2 carp for 20 lbs but the scales said no! They only weighed 12-13-0…

I’m obviously getting worse at estimating weights! So, I finished up with 17-5-0 for fifth and I never thought I would have caught that much based on my first hour. Andy Gard on peg 19 won the match with a total weight of 65-3-0, which included carp, F1s, big skimbos, roach, terrapins etc, etc. Well done to him. Kev was second with 55-9-0 and Tony Welsby took 27-4-0 for third.

Tuesday 27^th – Harescombe Fisheries – Hobnobs Open

I had been put on to these Hobnob Tuesday matches by Allan Oram, who was a member of PSV Match Group at the same time I was in the squad. I hadn’t seen Allan for about 35 years but met up with him recently on one of the Windmill matches. Fook me time flies!

I had only ever fished Harescombe Fisheries once before and that was on the match lake with the Kingswood RBL. I didn’t enjoy the match and vowed never to go back but you know, we all mellow with age. Anyway, this match was to be on a new lake called the Doughnut. It’s a little way off grid and about 2 miles from the main complex. Anyway, I’m on my way to Harescombe and all was going well as my trusty satnav was leading me to the venue. The next thing I know, I’m just about to pull into Harescombe Lane and it’s all closed off. WTF! My satnav was not helping in providing an alternative route so I had to phone a friend.

I called Tony Cook, the match organiser, who met up with me at a trading estate and kindly led the way. Once there, I met the rest of the hobnobs, some of whom I already knew, such as Kev Swanston, Tony Welsby and Dave Rugman. So, off we went in convoy to Doughnut Lake. Basically, this lake is circular in shape with a large island in the middle, hence the name. There isn’t much growing around it and I thought it looked quite barren out there all on its own and fully exposed to the elements. Well, it will probably look fine in about 5 years’ time. Oh… and there are only carp in this lake. Small ones too in the 1lb – 4lb range.

So, onto the draw and I get peg 10. You can drive right behind your peg here, which is a bonus whatever peg you draw. I had Tony Welsby to my left and Kev Swanston to my right, so familiar company. Looking at my peg, the inside edges didn’t look at all inviting so no edge lines today. There was no plant growth for cover on the far bank but I could see fish moving around so I set up a bomb rod for pellet fishing right over. Other than that, my only option was to fish down the middle, which was about 8 metres. I set up 2 rigs for this line. One to fish directly out in front with paste and the other to fish to my left with pellet. I would then wait and see which one was the most productive and focus entirely on that line.

I knew nothing about this lake and that included the depth, which at 7 feet down the middle surprised me. I had already made up 2 rigs for this match, both at 8 feet deep so didn’t have to make too many adjustments. Tony told me he drew one peg away from where he was today and had 70lb, so that was the target weight… lol. As I looked around, I could see everyone had poles and leger rods set up. There were no sign of wagglers but with fish topping right over, I wish I had brought mine. So, on the all-in, I dumped out a large potful of Scopex and micros out in front and then a large pot of 6mm Robin Red pellets to my left. While I waited for signs of bubbling on those 2 lines, I chucked out the bomb rig with a 6mm Robin Red over to the far side.

I didn’t have to wait too long before a feisty little 2-pounder was putting up the fight of his life. This was followed by 2 more plus a couple of foul hookers soon after. There were a lot of fish out there so feeding was kept to a minimum to prevent too many fish coming into the swim resulting in multiple foul-hookers. Anyway, after about an hour I could see that the swim right in front had come to life. It was fizzing like a glass of Alka-Seltzer and therefore time to drop everything and get on with some serious carp catching. I baited up my typical “Windmill Fisheries” style rig with a small ball of paste and lowered it in. Within 2 minutes I had a carp on and netted it.

For an hour it was a bite at every put-in until it slowed down and then the bites became very finicky. I decided to rest the swim and so went over the pellet line for a look. Hmmm… nothing doing there. I was tempted to go back on the bomb but decided to stick with the paste line. Well, that little 10-minute rest worked well, as the fish came back as bold as ever. After a few more in the net, I lost a much better fish. It snapped my 0.15 hooklength. I think it was only about 4-5 lbs but these fish were absolutely manic and they fought every inch of the way to the net. We were now about halfway through the 5-hour match and I reckoned I had about 30lbs in the net. Most of them were in the 2lb range.

Tony to my left was catching consistently on the bomb and I knew he was having a much better day than me. I had too many quiet periods where the fish completely disappeared for a while. This kind of intensified during the latter half of the match, making it really frustrating. I just couldn’t figure out what was going on so I made a few adjustments to the rig. In fact, over the last 2 hours, I made several adjustments but it wasn’t until the final hour that I realised that the fish were simply backing away. When I added another pole section I was back in the mix until they backed away again. They would come back over the feed if I rested the swim for 5 minutes, which was a lesson learned for next time.

You defo need to have 2 swims on the go if you want to continuously stay in touch and keep the catch rate up. So, with the match over, my clicker said 51lbs but I’m not too clever at guesstimating weights as the scales proved. I actually had 45-6-0. The match was won by Rich Powell who put 72-12-0 on the scales. Second was Mike Timlin with 52-3-0 and Tony Welsby was third with 50lb. He would have been second but unfortunately, he had overshot the net limit by 10lbs. However, I was handed some wedge by Tony Cook for what I thought was third place. I obviously wasn’t, so I’m not sure whether I should now spend my ill-gotten gains… lol!

Well, that completes the round-up for this blog. I’ll be at Windmill Fisheries tomorrow (29^th) for a silvers match on the Top Lake. I’ve never fished this lake so more virgin territory to explore. Then on Sunday 1^st September, I’ll be back on the Match Lake for another go at qualifying for the Bonanza 1000 Final. I’m running out of time and chances so I’ll have it all to do on this one… keep you posted!

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