Sunday 4^th May – A 3-Match Roundup

My broadband was down for a couple of days and so I wasn’t able to upload my report for Sunday 27th April. So, here’s a 3-match roundup report…

Sunday 27^th April – Windmill Fisheries Match Lake – It’s Getting So Predictable Now…

There was no fishing for me last Thursday, mainly due to a recurring back problem, so essentially a rest was called for. However, I was gagging to get some fishing in come Sunday and Windmill was once again my chosen venue. You may well ask why? Well, I do like a challenge, as you know, but this is one heck of a hard fishery to crack. So, there were 13 hardy warriors out for this one, including my RBL clubmates, Jason Pitman and Kev Murch. The banter in the morning was focused around the question of what was going to be the best bait… worm, paste, meat or pellet? I had brought them all with me plus a half pint of maggles from last week. So, onto the draw…

Kev drew peg 1, which has a lot of potential at any time of year. Jason drew peg 8, which has lots of options out in front and to the edge lines and I drew… peg 3! FFS! This is my worst nightmare peg. It’s the only peg on the lake that I NEVER, EVER want to draw. I drew it only a few weeks ago and could only catch right over into the reeds at 16 metres. I wouldn’t able to do that today with my back still giving me jib. So, my options were out in front with paste and out in front with worm. Only the right-hand edge is worth exploring as it has the right depth at 3 feet. The left-hand edge is great when the fish want to be in 12 inches of water, but I didn’t feel that was going to be the case today.

Well, at least there was nobody on pegs 2 and 4 and so I had a lot of room to work with. As I was getting ready, I noticed the reeds moving in my right-hand edge and so that’s where I planned to start with an 8mm pellet of meat. I spent the first 30 minutes dibbing and dobbing the meat and then tried slapping a 6mm pellet, but all that did was frighten the fish out of the peg. FFS! Here we go again. Okay, it was time to feed my 2 lines out in front. I chose the edge of the island as a marker for my 9-metre, out in front line, which was way over to my right. I dropped in a ball of Scopex groundbait with a few 6mm pellets there. Then, way over to my left, also at 9 metres, I dropped in a ball of choppie plus a few micros. A few grains of corn went in on my left-hand edge for later and a few pellets of meat were sprinkled in on my right-hand margin.

Next, I picked up the bomb rod, baited the size 16 hook with 3 red maggles and put it out towards the reeds on the far side. Then I made a cuppa and waited. I gave it a couple of chucks, which used up another 30 minutes and then I decided to try the paste line. At this point, I hadn’t seen much caught from anywhere, so it was the same story all around. Well, no signs on the paste line and so over to the worm line. I cupped out some more choppie and went over the feed with 2 dendras on the hook. I began getting a few indications, but not from carp, as a small rudd was soon safely netted. Well, I spent the next couple of hours just going through the motions and getting nowhere.

Then I noticed fish being caught on peg 6. The angler on that peg was fishing right over to the reeds on the far side of the island. Kev on peg 1 had a couple of fish and then Paul Barnfield on peg 25 began catching carp. Now, with only 2 hours left on the clock, I decided to ditch both the paste and worm lines in favour of my right-hand edge, which was beginning to show some signs of life. I had been throwing in a few maggles and some meat here for the last hour or so and now there was movement all around the reedy areas. So, out comes the 8-metre margin pole complete with a 4×12 dibber rig, consisting of 0.22 mainline and a size 14 hook to a 0.19 hooklength. On goes 4 maggles on the hook and first put-in, I’m into a 2lb plus tench!

Well, I wasn’t expecting that and then 10 minutes later, I hooked and landed a carp of around 6lbs. Then into the last hour, I hook and land 3 more before losing one right at the end. Well, that was it. Another typically hard day at the office. I had just over 25lb for my efforts and not a look in. Jason fared much better with 10 carp and 14lbs of skimbos for a total of 51-3-0 and a second place pickup… plus my quid. That makes him £3 up at the mo… but not for much longer Jason! Well done to all the framers today.

Thursday 1^st April – Windmill Costcutter Qualifier – Last Week’s Flyer Is This Week’s Loser!

Yeah, Windmill again today for another crack at qualifying for the final. You know… You can take what you have learned from any previous session on the Windmill Match Lake and 90% of the time, it doesn’t work on your next visit. I’m not the only one to learn this so it pays to NOT have any plan of action and just feel your way into the session. That’s exactly what I DIDN’T do on this match. What ‘appened was…

Well, we had 14 anglers out for this one and the weather forecast was for hot… hot… HOT! And Fook me it was. The carp were spawning everywhere and it was 28 degrees in the shade. A long, long day lay ahead and it was once again anyone’s guess how it would fish today. I drew peg 8, which is where Jason Pitman was drawn the previous Sunday. He pulled out 51 lbs of carp and quality skimbos, mainly from his right-hand edge on meat. So, that would have to be my focus today, but there was a lot of spawning activity going on just the other side of the small bush, so it was going to be interesting. I had Adrian Davis on peg 10 to my left and I could clearly see Shay Gilman of peg 11 and Kev Murch on peg 12.

As I was getting set up, the carp were going mental in my right-hand margin so I knew I wouldn’t be able to count on this line. So, I set up a worm line out in front at 10 metres and a short paste line at 5 metres. My left-hand edge was way too shallow and if there had been any fish there, I was sure I would have been aware of them. Anyway, I had a bad feeling about today and my feelings were justified. On the all-in, I noticed Adrian put out the method feeder to the edge of the island. A good choice and maybe I should have done the same. Instead, I opted for a waggler and pellet to the edge of the island where I could see many dark silhouettes against the reed bed. Each time the float landed near the shoal, they just quickly dispersed.

So, with an hour gone, the method is working for Adrian. A little later and Kev gets in on the action. For me, it’s as you were… nothing. Nothing on the pellet and wag, nothing on the worm and nothing on the paste. Despite several carp moving down my edge, swimming behind my keepnets and under my platform, I had no choice but to try meat in the right-hand margin. I kept well away from the obvious spawning activity but thought perhaps a couple of fish might break away from the orgy and have a little munch. Well, one did and it was the only one of the day. However, it was a good 10-pounder. Meanwhile, Adrian and Kev were having it all their own way and all I could do was watch and weep.

I began packing up early and I put my one carp back before the scales arrived. Back at the car park, I learned that John Smith had won my section with just 2 carp for 12lb. That was a bit close and maybe I was a little too hasty in putting my fish back ‘cos you just never know with this place. For example, Geoff Francis picked up for being second in the silvers payout with just 1 ounce! Anyway, well done to Adrian Davis for winning on the day with 85-3-0 and to Kev Murch for taking the runner-up prize with 68-10-0.

Sunday 4^th May – Georges Lake, Whitehouse Farm – Carp Capers And Silver Linings

After some pretty dire sessions at Windmill recently, I was really looking forward to this match at Whitehouse Farm for a nice change. Today’s match was on Georges Lake and 14 anglers were expected but only 13 turned up. My 2 favourite pegs on this lake are peg 6 and peg 17, simply because I have always done well from both pegs, whether match fishing or pleasure fishing. After handing over my pools money, I gave Jason my £1 ‘superpool’ and told him I will be expecting to get it back with interest. J-Lad has won the last 3 superpools so it surely had to be my time. So, I waited until everyone had drawn and dived into the drawbag.

There were 2 numbers left, peg 14 and peg 6… and so I only went and drew peg 14, leaving one of my favourite pegs in the bag… not a good omen, I thought. Nevermind, but I felt I had it all to do today. On arriving at my peg, a bitter north-easterly wind was blowing straight at me and all the other anglers on the bank, so on went the overcoats and hoodies for the duration of the match. I had a row of water irises to my right and a dense covering of fringe lilies to my left. Carp love these lilies and so that would be one of my target swims. For out in front, I decided on 2 swims, both at 10 metres. I had over 5 feet of water at this distance and opted for a worm presentation to my right and maggles and casters over groundbait to my left.

I love fishing the whip on this lake and my right-hand edge looked perfect for this. So, on the all-in, I cupped out some choppie to my 10 metre swim over to my right and then some maggles and casters mixed with some Sensas Black Lake groundbait over to my left. Then I picked up my 4.5 metre whip, baited the size 20 hook with a single red maggle and began whipping out some lovely rudd from my right-hand edge. After an hour, I tried the worm line, but no signs of life there. So, onto the maggles and casters line and a small roach came to a single red but nothing else afterward. Back onto the whip and I spent another fruitful hour catching rudd and perch on both maggles and casters. Then, another look over the worm line. There was nothing on the worm, but I did get a small 8-ounce skimbo on maggle from here.

Well, halfway through the match, I could see Kev Murch in the corner on peg 17 land a couple of biggish carp. Then Kev Swanston on the opposite bank had a couple and Julie Taylor also had one, followed by John Treasure on peg 19. Well, my 2 long lines were hopeless today, so I was losing out on a possible good silvers net. I reckoned I had about 5lbs of rudd and perch from my edge line, but this started dying off, which left me with just one option. It was time to go where no man ever wants to go… into the lily bed. I had found a small clear area about 12 inches in diameter and I dropped in some micros and some meat. As I sat back and had a cup of tea, I kept watch on the lilies for any signs of movement.

Sure enough, within 10 minutes, carp were mulling over my feed, so I picked up my margin pole and lowered in my ‘no messing’ margin rig with an 8mm pellet of meat. I didn’t have to wait long before the float buried and I was into a… very big fish. The strike quickly became a hit and hold stance as I kept the pressure on and finally persuaded the carp to come out into open water. It was only then that I think it realised it was hooked. Once into open water, it kept going and going across the lake. I’m sure it almost reached the far side of the lake before the hook pulled. My margin pole can stop a train and the 26 elastic is more than adequate for anything I’m ever likely to encounter in this lake, but my straightened hook was evidently not up to the job.

So, in goes more micros and meat and off we go again. The lilies were still alive with big fish so I was sure of hooking into another… which I did soon after but this one was defo a foul hooker and came off after a few seconds. So, I baited up again and had a quick check on all the other lines. There was still nothing doing, so it was now carp or bust time. Into the lilies I go again and within minutes I hook into another. It eventually comes out into open water and after a 10-minute tussle, I finally slipped the net under a healthy 10-pounder. That was a relief, especially as a few more carp had been caught to my left and to my right. So, with 40 minutes left on the clock, I’m desperate for another…

In goes more feed and a baited hook, but there are no tell-tale signs this time. I have no choice but to sit it out and wait… and wait… and wait. Then, without any warning, the float slides away and I’m in again. This one took some time to clear the lily bed and made a couple of determined attempts to get back into the thick of it. All I could do was hold on and pull. Eventually, he came clear and shot out toward the middle of the lake. It was a good 15 minutes before I got a glimpse of him and what a relief it was to slip the net under him. I reckoned he was near 15lbs. So, with just 20 minutes left, I would have loved to have finished with another, but it just wasn’t to be.

I finished up with 29-12-0 for third place, which is a fair result from this peg. Well done to Kev Murch for winning with an amazing 78-1-0 from corner peg 17 and a nice warm welcome back to Kev Swanston, who finished in second place with 32-12-0 from peg 3. Jon Amato once again dominated the silvers, taking the top silvers pool with 25-6-0, which included a few quality skimbos. Comiserations to Jason who lost a quid to me. Get in!

Next Thursday I’ll be back at Windmill again for another attempt to qualify for the Costcutter 500 and then the following Sunday, I’ll be on the Kennet & Avon canal at Bath for a friendly Kingswood RBL club match. Keep you posted…

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