Sunday 28 September 2008

Brrr! Winters On It's Way!


Well, the days might have been nice and warm just lately but the nights have a distinct chill to them now, I got up this morning to find that the heating had clicked on for the first time since, erm... I can't remember. Funny though, my first thought wasn't how the cold would affect the fishing, it was hoping that I didn't draw next to some wally that fills it in like I did last week!


The usual pre-draw chat was about who wanted which pegs and my wish list was 20, 23, 25 and 29, although I did say I wouldn't mind 33. The sun had just started to burn through the mist as we drew, just taking the chill out of the air, hand in the bag knowing that two of the pegs I wanted were gone and out comes 33, that'll do!


Peg 33 sits on the end of the island, and although it's a long way to the island (near 17m) it also has a small reedy bay along the left hand bank and can be a very good margin swim on it's day. I drew this peg a month ago and came 3rd with 46lb, mostly in the last 2hrs on meat in the margins. The first rig I set up was for the margin, at about 12m, just on the end of the marginal bay and just past the reeds, the reasons for this was that the slope was a little more managable and a heck of a lot cleaner so easier to fish. The lake still held good colour so I kept with the .18 line but scaled down the hook to a 14 B611, float was a .2gr DC5 in roughly 3ft of water, and the lakky was a very soft set 16 latex. The far bank rig had the same pattern float, same line and hook but a 15h elastic, as I had quite alot of smaller fish last time of this peg, I started this on the far slope in just under 3ft of water but expected to have to go further over later. Bait was corn, pellet and hemp but I'd also brought some red maggots as well has a few worms and some casters, no meat as it was now cooling down.


At the start I fed the far bank swim with about a dozen 4mm pellets, half a dozen grains of corn and a pinch of hemp. The margin was feed the same but with a pinch of casters too, and I would top it up with the same every half hour or so. First drop long with a pellet resulted in it getting shredded by small rudd, not what you want at 16.5m! on with a grain of corn and after loads of silly knocks a proper bite gave me a small crucian carp of about 6oz, net drop gave the same silly knocks for about a minite before they stopped, and then a proper bite which resulted in a 2lb+ common. The next drop gave a small pasty carp then a lost foulhooker signalled a quitening down of the swim for around 20min. Just before the hour mark two lost fish were followed by a spate of liners and unhittable bites. I'm sure the lost fish wearn't foulhooked, just fish that are not feeding properly.


I decided on a slight change of tactics following the liners, feeling that the fish were slightly higher in the water, so off with the half butt section and out with the 17.5m section to fish further up the shelf, I also decided to add another shot to the rig and use the corn to sink it, then drag it up the shelf so the float only just showed, hard work at near 17m but worth a try when there were fish there that just wearnt having it, although nobody else was catching either!


First drop further over was met with an instant bite from a mental 4lb ghostie, then a smaller common about half the size followed next drop in, but then no more bites were forth coming. Although the fish seemed to have gone I didn't want to feed alot so just dripped about 6-8 pellets and 3 grains of corn in every 7-8 min via the toss-pot, as I had done after every fish, but nothing followed so an hour and a half gone I tried the margin but 5 mins with no liners at all was enough to know nothing was there so back across and an instant bite results on a 4lb common then a couple of missed bites, so I tried a pellet and had a run of 4 small carp (4-8oz) before it quietend off again, before I foulhooked a fish lifting the rig which roared up the island and left my rig in a mess when it came off!


Back in the margin and a bite on a pellet gave me a small common of about 1lb but no more bites, but by this point I still hadn't seen much else caught, except the 2 decent carp from the margin on the peg to my right. Going back across again gave an instant response after being rested, 2 carp around 1.5-2lb then one 3lber hooked in the tail which gave me a lively run around before it quitened off again. Back in the margin with an hour and a half to go gave a small tench about a pound and two carp the same size in quick sucession before it again tailed off, so back to the island which again produced after the rest with two carp about 3lb a piece before that again tailed off.


Going into the last hour I was well ahead of anyone I could see but both swims seemed lifeless, and the next 30mins gave just one small fish in the margins but no other indications so with half an hour left I gambled on potting in across about 30 pellets and a dozen grains of corn, Ignoring the margins which had been quite dissapointing. An instant bite across gave another fish of around 3-4lb then nothing else, until with about 3min to go, and with me willing a fish to take the bait one did! A few minites after the whistle were needed to tame what was the biggest fish of the day at around 7lb. I knew I had a decent weight, but the bites were very much winter like , and despite the warm day it was obvious that the cold nights had an effect as I reckon 85% of my fish cames from 'dinks' on the float that never even took it under, even dotted right down.


When the scales got to my peg 16lb odd was top weight so I knew then I'd won, my small fish net going just over 6lb and my carp net a shade under 41lb gave me a 47lb 4oz net and a very comfortable win. I have say though I really enjoyed the day (except the floating leaves which were a pain for the last 3hrs!) as a neat and delicate approach was needed while still having a few fish to catch!

Monday 22 September 2008

Why Do These People Do It?


I did begin to wonder what the day would hold when at 7.10am I went to feed the fish in my pond and had to come back in the house to get a fleece! the preceeding days had been dry, bright and warm but it was destinctly cold out early, probably only 6 or 7 degree's C.

The venue is quite a way out of the town (I'm near the centre) and so is usually a degree or two cooler so a gentle start would be required before the fishing hopefully picked up with the temperature. On the way to the venue the usual chat about what peg was in full swing, and one of the numbers I didn't want was 45, a peg that has a good track record (won the last match with 70+lb) and nearly always has alot of fish in it. However, I don't like fishing against lilly pads for carp and it's a curse drawing the form peg anyway!

At the venue it was obvious it had been a chilly night, the grass was thick with dew and it was very chilly in the shade. Pools paid, into the usual place three quaters of the way down the que my hand goes in the bag and out comes 45! At the peg and it does look nice, a big lilly bed infront and a small island between the me and the peg to my left. The main thing that botherd me at this point however was the angler on the peg to my left, who'm at the draw made no secret of the amount of catmeat he had with him, not really what you want after the coldest night for near 6months....

A nice 3ft at 14m next to the small island and the same depth to my right margin against the foliage made things easy. One rig on .18 line, a .2gr DC5 to a 13B711 and a 16 latex would do for both. A shallow rig for both lines was set up, at half depth using a PB2 float on the same line and hook but with a soft purple hydro. Last rig was for the lillies, these had been producing alot of fish shallow close to them but tends to be very hit and heave, not how I like to fish, but I was told the last match was won fishing to the corner of the small island, however they couldn't be ignored so a shallow rig using a blob float on .20 line and tight purple hydro was set up for here, but I didn't want to use it!

At the all in I decided to take it easy with the feed after the cold night, twenty 4mm pellet and half a dozen grains of corn to the island, then half a dozen 6mm cubes of meat, same of corn plus a reasonable pinch of hemp found it's way down the edge. A 6mm pellet on the hook and out the island we go. Thirty seconds later and back in as the hoards of micro carp had demolished the pellet! out with a grain of corn and a min later float burries and away we go. A min later a 3lb common is in the net, a nice start, but then the day possibly took a turn for the worse! The angler next peg was late starting and at this point a large pole cup full of catmeat went to the lillies between us, followed by 3 more! then a huge pot of meat went to the corner of the island, AAAARRRRGGGH! Needless to say all indications stopped for about 10 min before a crucian of about a pound made it's way in but again nothing followed. After half an hour I decided to start to drip in half a dozen pellets every 6-7mins to try and provoke a response, and after 45min the float burried and what was obviously a lump was on, but as I'd lifted towards the island and lillies it had ran out to the open, and after 4-5mins it rolled on the top and revealed it's self to be one of the huge ghosties in the lake, definatly a double and probably 12lb+, however at this point a problem manifested, the tree's around my peg! I couldn't lift the pole behind me (only the top kit and short 4) to get the fishes head up and over the net and after another couple of minites the hook pulled. Damn (or words to that effect!)

The loss of that fish signalled the death of my swim, not that I could see anyone else catching either mind. Two small carp quick after 3 hours, after I upped the feed gave me hope but again nothing after. The margin was dead and even the lillies seemed lifeless, just odd fish cruising about in the open. I couldn't get a bite anywhere in the swim on any rig, not even an indication, totally lifeless. The angler to my left had only one foul hooker and to my right nothing. The only people I could see catching where those opposite in the open water who were getting odd fish by just sitting in the open water and feeding barely a thing, not a good sign for me after what had gone in nearby! Two more small carp at the death gave me a 15lb 11oz total at the weigh in, good enough for 4th, 48lb won, with another 40+ weight came from the bank opposite, with a 25lb weight for 3rd from the back of the main island.

All in all a frustrating day, I'm sure the peg would have been good for a couple more fish had so much bait not gone in next peg (he fed right at the limit of where he could towards me too!) and also losing that big ghostie which I'm sure given room to play it properly I'd have had in the net before the hook pulled, which would have given me 3rd. Oh well, at least it had been a nice day for two Sundays in a row, a bit rare this year, and there's always next week!

Monday 15 September 2008

Not a bad blog start!








Well, for the first time in a couple of weeks the weather held out nice on a Sunday, it's mid September and I'm actually celebrating that fact, that can't be good, but that's the great British summer hey!

Today I drew peg 23 on lake 1 at Westside, a peg I've drawn a couple of times before (well, twice) I've had a second and a third off the peg, both times only narrowly missing out on first. I was quite happy with my draw as pre-match when asked I did say I wanted to be in the 20's. The peg is one off the two that were in the match where you can't reach the island with the pole, sitting as it is just on the corner of the island, with the far bank probably 25m away. To my left was a small weedy bay which looked very fishy but the previous times I've drawn it has produced only a quick run of fish before it fades out.



It was quite a warm sunny morning and on previous matches 40lb+ has been needed to frame so that was the sort of weight I was expecting to be needed to win. To fish the island I set up my Drennean 10ft puddle chucker, coupled with a small Daiwa front drag reel and 8lb pro gold main line. On this I was going to fish a method feeder using a small Kobra method feeder loaded with 3mm green swim-stimm pellets and alternating hair rigged pellets (6 and 8mm s-pellets) or corn on a .20 Garboline hooklength t0 a 16 Kamasan animal. For a margin swim I used approx 14m of my Garbolino Superlegion to fish to my left hand bank, behind the lillies and a big weed bed which I knew was in the swim. (I'd lost 4-5 carp in the weed about 6 weeks ago when I last drew that peg). The pole gear consisted of a .3gr DC6 float on .18 Garboline to a 13B711 hook and using a 16 latex elastic in around 3ft of water. I also set up a shorter version of the same rig to use fishing shallow over the same line and to push further up the shelf if I wanted to try that. Bait for the pole was meat (feeding 6mm with 8-10mm cubes for the hook) and corn, feeding both with hemp.



At the start the margin swim got approx 20 pieces of corn and meat plus a small hand full of hemp, totalling half a small cup of bait in total, topping up with the same every half hour. The method was then loaded up and the first cast dropped woefully short of the island, despite me being clipped up, as did the second! a bit out of practice methinks! eventually I got into the swing of things, though still not getting quite a close to the island as I wanted, I expected bites to come pretty quickly, even from small 'pasty' carp. Well, an hour and a quarter in all I had to show was 2 liners and some silly small fish nudges to show. A quick try on the pole, earlier than I wanted, produced just a single liner that encouraged me to give it a few more minutes than I intended. Back on the method and I was starting to get a little worried, though I'd only seen one small carp caught a few pegs down (straight in front of me as I looked)



A hour and 40min in and a sharp pull and a stonking drop back had me grabbing the rod and resulted in me having a puzzled look as nothing was on the end! A few fish were cruising now so it was not like nothing was in front of me, yet I couldn't catch. I expected a slow start due to the cooler autumnal nights but it was worse than I thought. At quarter to midday, just as I was reaching for my radio to listen to the footie chat on Talksport (I was getting bored!) the tip wrenched round and I actually had a fish, whoooey! A very slow and sluggish fight, almost bream like but very heavy resulted in me lifting the rod as I went to net the dead weight and a big orange 'carrot' folding into the net. Now, I've been a regular at Westside for about 18 months but it was the first time I've caught Rusty, a bright orange koi that goes just over 9lb in weight normally, not a bad start, even near 2hr in when everyone else was catching little.


Half an hour later and it was looking a false dawn, with just one liner and one lost fish, although I'm sure I'd just cast over the back of it, as it was an instant bite but it never felt right for the few seconds it was on. Then, just as I was looking at a spitfire overhead chasing a messerschmit 109 (perhaps dodgy spelling!, but Duxford airfield is nearby so a fairly common sight) my tip rod was nearly dragged into the lake, and after a short spirited fight a small 2lb common found its way into the net, Next cast resulted in a rake of liners and the following cast gave a 3lb common and things had just started to get interesting. Two casts with no interest later and it's time to try the pole. Two silly liners later on meat prompted me to try corn and the two drops in saw two carp for about 5lb find their way into the net, then biteless spell prompted a return to the tip.


A half hour biteless spell back on the tip saw me abandon that and get a quick 2lb'er on the pole then nothing again so decided to try upping the feed on the pole (a whole cup of meat, hemp and corn every 30min instead of half). I'd still seen little else caught so was quite happy with things, but more so when a return to the method, trying corn instead of pellet gave 2 quick 3lb'ers followed by a fish of about 7-8lb which I lost at the net trying to keep it's head up over the weed in the edge, Damn! This gave rise to another biteless hour on the tip and pole, though I was at worst keeping pace with the best of the 4 others I could see. With the pole line dead (I'd tried shallow and further up the shelf with no response) I decided to persevere with the tip where I was still getting an odd liner, a decision which paid off as in an hour my fish tally found it's way up to 14 carp, mostly to corn but all on the method. A quick try on the pole in the dying moments saw two missed bites but I already knew I was way ahead of anyone I could see.


By the time the scales got to me 18lb 12oz was top weight, my two weighs gave me 58lb 1oz and with nobody else admitting to more than 6 carp it was obvious that I'd won. Second and third place ended very close, with two of the pegs further down weighing in 21lb 12oz and 21lb 8oz but with a few people not bothering to weigh in it had been hard for a lot of people. Not a bad start to my blog, something which the seemed to curse my fishing last time I did!





Friday 12 September 2008

Right, suppose I'd better put up some background info on where I'll be fishing really, incase anyone who may actually read this doesn't get lost when I start proper.

The fishery has two lakes, the New Lake (or lake 1) and the Old Lake (lake 2), I will try and put some pictures up, but I only have a camera phone so I apologise for the quality of them now! Both lakes are nice and mature, as far away as you could get from some muddy holes infact. Lake 1 is kinda doughnut shaped, but with a couple of wider pegs where you can't reach with the pole. Most pegs prob need around 16m to fish across, except peg 11 which is about 11m wide, but I never draw it! It's the more mixed lake of the two, with a fair head of silvers and crucians and an odd tench. It is however carp that are needed to win, going from a few ounces upto double figure munters, and there are a few of those!

Lake 2 is a long triangle shape, with an island at the wide end. It's generally more coloured than lake 1, and is predominantly carp, but there are a few crucians and silvers. This year there have been alot of 'nuisence' baby carp, a pain now but great for a couple of years time. The average stamp is probably just over 3lb, but again there are a fair few double figure beastie's, including some whopping great big ghosties!

I think that this Sunday the match is on lake 1 (they tend to be alternated for the opens, unless a club has booked one), and my last 2 matches on there I've done well, winning with 54lb 8oz to pellet across and then being ounced into 3rd with 46lb odd fishing mostely meat in the margins. Anyhow, I'd hope to have a good day but either way the result will be up here for all to see!