February 25^th – Margaret’s Lake, Whitehouse Farm – Much Tears And Rain

Another double report today as I fished the Costcutter match at Windmill Fisheries again last Thursday. So, I’ll start with that one… As usual, it was a rover match, which is a great way to beat yourself up if you don’t do well because you get to choose your own peg. 10 brave souls turned out for this one, and the weather forecast was for rain at the start and rain at the end of the match, which turned out to be surprisingly accurate. At the draw, I wanted a low number so I could pick peg 14, which is on fire at the moment. Instead, the lake gods handed me the number 10, which gave me the last choice. I chose peg 1.

With nobody on pegs 25 and pegs 2-8, I had lots of room, probably too much room as the fish can wander out of your peg and into a large safe area. My plan was to set up a rig for fishing at 11 metres in 8 feet of water for silvers and a rig for fishing both the left and right-hand margins for carp. Both edges have reeds so I would fish up against them with corn, meat or pellet. I had 4 feet in each margin but I could lay the rig in so that the bait would rest on the side of the slope, should they prefer to be in shallower water. Cold rain always unsettles carp and other fish for that matter but carp mainly. When a layer of cold water sinks to the bottom the fish rise above it. It takes some working out on days like this.

I’m not going to get into the science right now but I’m very aware of how cold rain and air pressure can affect how fish feed… Anyway… I have a set of rigs made up just for Windmill, which consist of 2, 3 and 4-gram pencil floats for most of the open water fishing plus 2 and 3-gram Chianti style floats for the margins and up against the island. Groundbait today was Thatcher’s Original for the silvers and 2mm micros for the edges. On the all-in, I cupped out a Jaffa size ball of groundbait and some dead red maggles to the 11-metre line. I noticed the reeds to my left were moving so I baited my margin rig with a grain of corn and lowered it in next to where I saw the quivering reeds. Within 10 minutes I was into a carp of about 5lbs. Whoopee! I think I was winning the match at that point!

After that, I cupped in some micros and corn to both edges and kept looking out for ‘whispering grass.’ Meanwhile, it was time to take a look over the 11-metre line with a single red maggle on a size 20 hook to a 0.08 hooklength. I had a small roach of around an ounce on the first put-in, followed by several more and then a nice skimmer of about 12 ounces. However, bites tailed off and so I topped up with groundbait. At this point, I noticed a few carp splashing about on peg 3 so I chucked out a bomb and maggle towards them. I couldn’t reach them as I was unable to cast properly from under my umbrella so I soon gave up on that idea. As the day went on, the carp continued to splash about on peg 3 to my frustration as I really struggled to get bites on all my swims.  

On my first drop-in onto my right-hand margin, I got snagged up on the reeds below the water line and had to pull for a break. That kind of put me off fishing this edge, which was probably a big mistake, as the reeds were shaking violently further down the line. I could have probably drawn some fish toward me. Instead, I concentrated on my left-hand edge, where I hooked 8 but landed 5 more carp during the day. I did catch another skimmer and a few more roach on the silver’s line but my silvers net only weighed 2lb 1oz. My 6 carp went 26lb 8oz, giving me a total weight of 28lbs 9oz and 4^th on the day. I reckon I was one carp off the frame, so no mullah today. Peg 14 produced the winner yet again with a weight of 62lb. Well done to Tom Baker.

Winter League Final Round, Margaret’s Lake, Whitehouse Farm

I had given up on winning anything in this league 3 matches ago and so it was just another run-of-the-mill club match for me. There had been a frost on the Friday and Saturday nights and now we had cold rain to contend with too. FFS! Is it ever going to stop raining!!! At the draw, I was hoping for a peg with the wind off my back and preferably one of the deeper water pegs. I drew peg 15, which I was happy with. Although I didn’t have an island chick on this one, I did have the wind off my back and 7 feet of water out in front. This peg has a long right-hand margin with reeds and overhanging bushes. Carp and F1s often show up here plus it can be a really good skimmer peg, producing quality fish anywhere from 5-13 metres out in front.

So, today’s blueprint consisted of a rig to fish at 9 metres for skimmers, hopefully, and a similar rig for the 6-metre line for roach and anything else. My only other line was on the inside to my right, where I could probe the full length of the bank up to 14 metres. I set my rig to around 3 feet deep for this line. For good measure, I had Jason Pitman to my right on peg 14 and Kev Murch to my left on peg 16 and I could clearly see what each of them was up to. That’s always useful in a match! So, on the all-in, I cupped out a pinch of quite sloppy Thatcher’s Original plus some micros and a few 4mm expander pellets to the 9-metre line. I dropped in the same size splodge of groundbait plus a few dead red maggles to the 6-metre line. Then I picked up my margin rig, loaded it with a 6mm disc of bread and explored the right-hand edge.

I had a couple of enquiries on bread right away but I reckoned it was roach. My wild guess was confirmed when I hooked a 4-ounce roach after about 15 minutes. After missing a few more roach bites, I decided to give up and then have a look on my long line with a single red maggle. I had a roach instantly and then a few more soon after. I topped up this swim and then went onto the 6-metre line with a single red maggle to a size 20 hook, 0.08 hooklength. I caught a few more roach before it went a bit quiet so it was back onto the longer line with a 4mm expander and… bingo! A lovely 2lb skimmer. However, I couldn’t get another bite on this line so I topped up again and went short to put a few more roach in the net.

The cold rain was making conditions very unpleasant by now and bites were slowing and getting very finicky. I began working the 9-metre line again with a 6mm soft pellet and I had another nice skimmer about a ‘pound an arf’ but not much else here. As I had my brolly up, I decided to focus on the shorter line and the inside edge as it was easier to ship in and out. The 6-metre line was about 6 feet deep but I was sure that the fish had moved up in the water due to the cold rain so I shallowed up to 3 feet deep. I began catching more regularly now and they were a slightly better stamp of fish. Next, I put some corn and micros in at about 7 metres along the margin with the intention of having a little look later. I reckoned one carp would be enough to win today so it was worth the investment. I also predicted that 10lb of silvers would be enough to win if no carp showed up.

I carried on catching a few small roach and perch up in the water for a while but then had to have a look on the edge swim. I probed with corn for about 30 minutes but apart from a few dinks on the float, which were probably roach, I had no serious takers. So, I spent the remaining half hour chasing small roach until the all-out. I thought I had about 6lbs although I told everyone who asked that I had about 3lbs. I put in a proper shift today and had to keep ringing the changes to keep fish coming even though some of them were quite small. I guess you only get out what you put in. So, my catch went 7lb 4oz on the scales, finishing in 5^th place and just missing out on the wonga again, this time by 7 ounces. Pete Watkins won with 1 carp for 13lb and there were 2 weights of silvers, with each a little over 10lbs… remember my prediction?

Well, fishing in the freezing rain is not my idea of fun, and I’m sure most of you will agree but… it just has to be done… right? I am beginning to wonder. So, I’ll be back at Windmill Fisheries again on Thursday for the Costcutter, still chasing a win or at least a podium position. Then on Sunday, 3^rd March, I might be at the Clamp, Henfield but it depends on whether the numbers are going to be limited. It’s a rover but if there are any more than 10 anglers then someone will end up near the car park end and at this time of year that’s dead water, barren, completely void of fish. If I don’t fish the Clamp then it will be Windmill again for me but I would like a change so… watch this space and I’ll keep you posted.

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