Welcome to my fishing blog… August 2026
Sunday 2nd August – If You Get It Wrong, Make Sure You Get It Right Next Time
I’m sure every match angler has done it… You draw a peg, decide on a particular method or methods and it all goes wrong. Then, soon after, you find yourself in the same situation, but you do things differently and you get a very different result. You then wish you had done that in the first place… right?
Welcome to my latest blog. This is a 4-match roundup, which includes 2 trips to the woeful Windmill Fisheries and 2 outings to Whitehouse Farm. So, let’s start with the Windmill Fisheries Costcutter on Thursday 23rd July. There was another good turnout for this one with 18 anglers in attendance and another very warm day to contend with. I reckoned, on recent past form, at least a ton was going to be needed to get anywhere near the moolah today, and I was right. But where would it come from? I had fancied being somewhere at the top end of the lake today, maybe peg1, peg 23, 24 or 25, but I got peg 9.
I don’t mind peg 9, but it is a strange one. On this peg there is no inside bank cover as such. There are no reeds, no overhanging trees or shrubs and no irregular bank features, and yet the carp will come in as close as you like. They stir up the mud and give their positions away like they don’t have a care in the world. And when they show up, they come in great numbers. You just have to wait for them and fill in your time doing something else. So, today, I set up a method feeder rod for fishing right over. I also set up a rig for fishing at 9 metres on the deck. I intended to attack this line with paste and if that didn’t work, I had pellets and corn as backup.
It was one of those days when keeping everything simple was the best option and so I only had 2 rigs set up. The one for 9 metres and an inside line set up at 15 inches to fish both the left and right-hand margins with meat. Well, what else? Meat works really well on this venue and if I’m coming here I always have meat in my armoury. So, on the all-in, I cupped out a big ball of Scopex groundbait and a few micros to the 9-metre line. Then I lobbed out the method feeder packed with micros, Scopex and a yellow wafter on the hook. I gave that about 40 minutes and lost 2 foul hookers, so probably not the best method for this particular day. Then it was time to go out and have a look with paste.
Well, I didn’t have to wait long for a bite. A 2lb plus skimbo had snaffled the bait and shot out of the water like a Polaris missile, shedding the hook as it became airborne. Then over the next 2 hours I faffed about with paste, corn and pellet but had very few bites, leading to just 2 carp in the net. I had noticed a lot of carp moving around in the upper layers and so I did try slapping a pellet for a while but got no interest in that. Mindful of how quickly the time was passing, I decided to target the margins for the remainder of the session. It was a slow start with just one foul hooker on the left after 20 minutes, but then it finally got going.
I had already loose-fed some meat to both sides, but the right-hand edge began to produce much more positive bites and fish started coming to the net. From that point on I caught fairly consistently, losing a good few too but managing to just stay ahead of those around me. I gave up on the left-hand edge as all the fish seemed to be coming from the other side. On the all-out, I reckoned I had about 75lbs. The scales said 85-04-0. If only the fish had come in sooner, I might have doubled that weight. Well, I came 4th overall and picked up a section payout for that effort, so not too shabby. Top weight went to the Match Fishing Maestro, Simon Stacey, with 138-11-0 from peg 25.
26th July – Ian Chapple Memorial Charity Match – Whitehouse Farm
This annual charity match attracted a total of 19 anglers who were spread across both lakes. The event raised £190 for Cancer Research and Alcove Angling Club rounded it up to £250. Well done to everyone involved! I was hoping for a draw on one of the noted carp pegs on George’s Lake, which includes peg 1, peg 18, peg 17 and peg 6. Failing that, I would have been happy with peg 17, peg 13 or 14 on Margaret’s Lake. Well, at the draw I hung back to the end and there were 2 pegs left in the draw bag. Jon Amato, who rides a motorbike, had to backtrack his journey because he had lost his nets. I pulled out peg 15 on George’s. A no-hoper in my mind and so carp were really out of the question. The other peg that was left was Margaret’s 14… a fooking flyer.
Okay, so when you draw a bad peg all you can do is go through the motions and hope for the best. With carp very unlikely from my peg, I had to target the silvers and so out came my trusty 4.5 metre whip. For the pole, I decided on 2 lines, both at 9 metres in 5.5 feet of water, where I would hopefully catch a few skimbos. I would use the same rig, which comprised a 0.50-gram (4×16) Chianti-bodied float and a size 18 hook to a 0.11 hooklength. I had corn, paste and maggles for hookbait. Groundbait choice was my usual Power Scopex laced with micros.
Well, I started on the whip, as usual, just to get a few fish in the net, but after an hour it became obvious that the silvers were going to be hard to catch today. I had already primed my two 9-metre lines and so now it was time to see what was about. A single maggle on the hook produced a few tiny roach. A change to corn produced nothing, but a small ball of paste brought an instant response from a 6-ounce skimbo. I topped up the swim again and it began fizzing like crazy. After a short while, I realised I probably shouldn’t have topped up as all the fizzing was being caused by small skimbos, who were totally fixated on hoovering up the groundbait and micros.
Well, I spent the next 4 hours struggling to put a few bites together. Then a quick look down the edge, on the off-chance, saw me tangling with a carp, but it was foul-hooked and didn’t stay on for long. When I went back out onto the 9-metre line again, I couldn’t get another bite, and so I spent the last hour completely biteless. So, getting it wrong on the day was something I kind of alluded to earlier and I defo got it wrong today.
Mistake #1… I should have fished at 11 metres because the fish backed off late. Mistake #2… I should not have put micros in because it attracted tiny skimbos who were obsessed with them. Mistake #3… I should not have used Power Scopex purely for skimbos. I tend to use it when targeting carp and skimbos. Mistake #4… I didn’t bring any worms! That was probably the biggest mistake of all. So, I ended up with a pathetic 4-07-0. Steve Brown won top silvers with 18-06-0. Overall match winner was guest Steve Taylor with an incredible 138-06-0 from peg 1. Steve Sewell wasn’t too far behind with 107-00-0 for second place from peg 17. Top weight from Margaret’s Lake went to “Angling Wizard” Andy Brookman with 93-11-0 from peg 10. Oh… and I lost a quid to Jason… again… FFS!
Thursday 30th July – Windmill Fisheries – How To Get It All Wrong Again
Well, perhaps I didn’t get it ALL quite wrong but wrong enough. It was another good turnout at Windmill Fisheries with 16 anglers showing up for the next round of the Costcutter 500 Qualifier. Now, last week I drew peg 9, finished 4th and picked up some coin. Also, last week, I really fancied being up the top end of the lake and today… I was. I drew peg 24. Pete Turner was on peg 25, Nick Sanders was on peg 22 and Liam Reynolds was on peg 2. Peg 1 was not in today, so Liam had plenty of room out in front and to his right. We also had a “little squid” side bet, which I was sure I’d win, as long as I played the game right.
I had a nice clear chuck to the island and so a method feeder was set up without hesitation. I also set up a rig for fishing out in front at 9 metres. This was my paste line with pellet as backup. However, my main approach was to be the margins and especially my right-hand edge, which was all of 12 inches deep, sloping away. My left-hand edge was a bit too deep at just over 3 feet, but I still intended to give it a go. My first job was to do a bit of gardening by clearing some overhanging vegetation on my right, so that I could get a good clear view along the whole of the edge. My left-hand edge was lined with reeds and I had to remove some of those too, so that I could get my rig into an area that I could see without the reeds wafting about in front of me.
My 9-metre line was nice and flat and it was around 7 feet deep. The lake is over a foot down on normal levels, which is making some of the margin swims a little challenging. Anyway, overall, I was happy with my draw and looking forward to the day. On the all-in, I dumped out a big ball of Power Scopex to my 9-metre line, laced sparingly with a few 4mm hard pellets. I just needed to keep an eye on this line and give it a go when the bubbles started to appear. So, it was straight down my left-hand edge with meat on the hook and it wasn’t long before I had a 5-pounder in the net, but then I lost the next 2 fish. However, I hadn’t seen anyone else catch anything at this point. Next, I went down my right-hand edge with meat, holding back against the slope. A carp was already there but got spooked and fooked off, leaving a huge bow wave in its wake.
So, I fed a few pieces of meat and started to focus more on my right-hand edge. Before long, I had another 2 carp in the net and as far as I could see, I was running away with it…LOL! Well, Liam then caught one and then Nick caught one and then Pete caught one. Bites began to slow up already and I was getting a little concerned at this point. So, I dropped in some micros and meat to both edge lines and went out onto my 9-metre line with paste. The fizzing had started, but I was sure it was skimbos and not carp that were causing all the commotion. My theory proved right as I soon hooked and landed a near 3lb bream. Then I had another near 3-pounder that got airborne and shed the hook in mid-flight. That happened to me last week too. Well, there goes the silvers pool. Then it all went quiet, so I topped up this line and went back down my right-hand edge.
There must have been a carp there waiting for me as I had a fish on straight away, but it was a hefty double and used all its power and weight to good advantage, heading for, and finally burying itself in the reed bed to my left. I did get another one soon after, but I had noticed that Liam and Nick were now catching with impunity! FFS! I was kicking ass just an hour earlier and now these guys were beginning to eclipse all my efforts. At that point, I should have chucked out the method feeder as all my lines had gone quiet, but oh no… I just persevered on my right-hand edge and that cost me dearly. I did manage to get 2 small carp from my paste line before foul-hooking a few that were up in the water.
I spent the last hour virtually biteless and again I should have gone on the method, but for some reason I was too preoccupied with my right-hand edge. In hindsight, the fish had obviously backed off and perhaps I should have tried a little further down the line, but I didn’t… big mistake. I’m not sure if I could have done the win from this peg, but I certainly could have and should have done a lot better. I finished up in 8th position with 54-15-0. Well done to Matt Taynton who won the match with 122-11-0 from peg 9. Legion and Alcove AC clubmate, Kev Murch was second with 106-05-0 and once again came so close to qualifying for the final. Liam ended up with 98-09-0 and so I lost a quid to him… lesson learnt!
Sunday 2nd August – John Treasure Memorial & Invitation Match – Whitehouse Farm
This match used to be an inter-club event between Alcove AC and Kingswood RBL AC, but over the years, many of the Legion lads have joined Alcove and the remainder of the Legion boys have sadly become uninterested in this match. I was hoping a few more Legionnaires might show up for this one as John Treasure was an active member of both clubs, but it is what it is. So, going forward, this match will be an invitation match, which will save any future embarrassment on behalf of the Kingswood RBL.
So, we had 17 anglers in attendance with both lakes in use once again. Having just fished in a charity match here a week before, I was still mindful of my poor performance on George’s Lake and so this time I hoped I was much better prepared. I thought a noted carp peg would be nice today, but it wasn’t to be. I drew peg 13 on George’s Lake, which is another peg I didn’t fancy. It’s probably a little better than peg 15, which I drew last week but not by much and silvers would have to be the main target once again. However, there was a little silver lining… Jason had drawn peg 15, so I thought I might be able to take a quid off him today… LOL!
Now, last week I made a few wrong choices and decisions, which cost me dear, but today, I was much better prepared. I had worms with me and I had Sonubaits Worm Fishmeal groundbait… it was going to be skimbo time! Out came my 4.5-metre whip to kick off the session and although I did set up an edge rig, I wasn’t going to give the margins much more than a fleeting glance during the course of the day because the carp just will not come down the margins on this bank. My main approach was to be 2 lines at 11.5 metres. One with worm groundbait and chopped worm and the other with corn over micros. I was sure the worm line would produce the goods today.
So, on the all-in, out went a small ball of chopped worm and groundbait at 10 o’ clock, followed by a cup of micros and corn at 2 o’clock. I put some meat and micros down the edges and I would keep an eye on these for any signs of carp… just in case. So, I started on the whip, as usual, with a single maggle to a size 20 hook and 0.8 hooklength. It was about 15 minutes before I had my first bite from a small rudd. You can always tell if this method is going to work by how quickly the fish come to the bait and the actual quality of the fish. Neither of these factors was impressive right from the start. Most of the fish were very small rudd and roach and although I gave it the best part of an hour, I think I probably amassed a total of 1 pound of fish in that time. Needless to say, the whip was put on hold.
By now, my 11.5 metre line was fizzing with fish activity and so out I went with a whole dendra on the hook. Skimbos can be so annoying, especially how they faff around on the bottom, making the float do everything but go under. On the occasions that it did completely bury beneath the surface, a fish was on. I seemed to be forever adjusting my rig in order to hit the bites, but it was difficult. However, I was catching skimbos and one or two of them were nice 1-pound-plus fish, although most averaged around the 8-10 ounce mark. For some reason, the better fish, which go to 2lbs and more, seem to be over the other side of the lake. I’m not sure why that is. Anyway, I was catching steadily and I knew I was doing much better than the previous week despite losing a few good fish here and there.
I also lost a carp that was foul-hooked in the tail. That took up 15 minutes of my time and it ploughed through my swim several times, which unsettled the skimbos for a while. Meanwhile, over on peg 1, Kev Murch was having it all his own way, landing multiple doubles and completely bossing the match. That’s why it would have been pointless going for carp from my peg. Well, time rolled on and at the all-out stage, I thought I had about 10lbs. I did tell Jason I had about 4lbs just to wind him up because he’s never truthful about his estimated catches, this time saying he had about 6lbs. That usually means he has like 10lbs or more. When it came to the weigh-in, Kev Murch had obviously run away with it. He finished up with 155-14-0 and could have had a lot more. In second place on George’s Lake was Steve Sewell, once again the bridesmaid… LOL with 61-10-0. In third place was Tony Welsby with 29-10-0 and I managed a top silvers win with 14-02-0.
Over on Margaret’s Lake, the top bender was Pete Watkins with 76-05-0, most of which was caught in the last hour close in. In second place was Andy “Mr Whiteacres” Brookman with 44-01-0 and finally Tony Cook managed to pick up a little wonga with a 43-09-0 catch. (Bet you’re glad you came now, Tony). The top silvers prize went to the silvers maestro himself, Mike “Silver Fox” Nicholls with 28-11-0. Well done mate!
Well, that just about concludes this report. It was nice to see veteran angler and long-time Alcove member, Bill Croom out with us on this one and I hope John Treasure was looking down and enjoying all the banter. Oh… and I took a quid from Jason… Sweet! Next time, I’ll be back to Windmill Fisheries for some serious practice and then it’s off to the River Kenn in Clevedon for the Kingswood RBL “Away Day”… Keep you posted!
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