Thoughts on 2010....

Well, it seems the year has ended in the same way it started, with ice covering everywhere! Being as I've not been fishing for a couple of weeks (and it's been even longer since I caught a fish!) my withdrawal symptoms have led me look back on the year fishing wise.


The year didn't start on the best note, I blanked on the first weekend of the year, and also on the first round of the winter league, both times through the ice. I managed to save the winter league in the end, dropping the blank as my worst result. I was very pleased with a second place as in three matches on the old lake I never drew a favourable peg in the conditions, but managed frame placings in all three rounds on the new lake to have a respectable result.


The early spring brought a respite from the frosts and a few more fish but it still wasn't great with no real stand out results but at least an end to blanks or scraping out a few tiny roach! As the weather warmed into late spring and early summer my results started to improve as the frame places went away from being a bit of a lottery and more to those who sussed out the feeding!


As the carp got into the feeding habit my results picked up markedly, and this also gave a rise in confidence which always helps when fishing. I had an enjoyable summer really, winning a match first time out with a new pole will always stick in the mind but perhaps the most enjoyable was the two occasions I finished second on the old lake fishing long pole shallow in the open area of the lake. The lake really isn't known for producing weights shallow but when the island pegs were dominating the frame places I was by a long way doing the best from the open water and sneaking into the envelope places! I find it easy to work hard (if that makes sense!) when fishing shallow, and while I admit a slight rustiness at it perhaps cost me a few fish it's a way of fishing I really enjoy.


As Summer turned to Autumn I perhaps managed my highlight of the year in breaking the match record on the new lake, notching up my first match ton for five years in the process with a weight of just over 104lb. It bucked a trend a touch too in that most people were shovelling in corn down the edge to catch where as the majority of my fish came across to pellet where I fed about a pint of bait. This was followed up with a win the weekend after on the old lake with a catch of 59-5 taken predominantly from the 2+2 line (perhaps the tactic that has dug me out of more holes than any this year) although I'll always remember the day for it being the wettest I've sat in for a long while!


With the onset of the cooler weather the weights took an expected drop but I still found myself doing well, more so on the new lake where I seemed to have found it a lot easier to win on this year! One of the more memorable days (on the old lake) would have to be at the end of October when I struggled for much of the day until the 2+2 line produced five very late lumps to leave me just short of first and second place who'd caught all day. Just goes to show you should never give up as with an hour left I was nowhere. Into November and the start of the month was a struggle with me notching up a 2nd place with just 18lb odd. I missed a weekend and getting back onto the bank the 21st of November is quite a memorable date, as it's the last time I caught a fish at the time of writing, nearly six weeks ago! A narrow win that day with 43-2 on maggot taught me the merit of having a hook-length box stocked with plenty of identical hook-lengths as a quick change near the end led me to go strait back out quickly and a late fish won me the match. I'd only bought the box (the small blue Preston one) the day before too!


After that memorable day the ice has arrived and I've only been out twice since then, my longest spells without fishing since the winter of 96/7. Both times have been blanks but the lack of others catching has led me to stay off the bank. I don't mind breaking the ice if there are fish to be caught, but it seems there aren't! I was going to go on the river but even the Cam has been frozen over too so at the moment I'm sitting climbing up the walls! Looks like I'll manage the coming Sunday but the frosts are coming back after it looks like, so what happens is anybodies guess..


So what have I learnt this year? As mentioned not long ago the hook-length box paid for it's self on the first time out, although I admit I still don't use hook-lengths on my shorter rigs. Maybe more experimenting in the summer will see a change to that? Fishing to my strengths is an obvious one (or not following the crowd) I'd consider myself a competent shallow angler and really enjoyed the days I caught on it, considering the venue isn't known for it. I didn't win, but I done considerably better than the sit-and-wait paste and cat meat heads drawn in the same area. I like it as it keeps me busy! I also had a run of results fishing slightly different ways on the same venue, having good days not only fishing pellet, or meat and corn but also a result on the worm in the summer. Perhaps I'd have done just as well fishing exactly the same each time but something told me something slightly different was needed and it done the job for me doing it! I like to feel I can switch to something else if plan A doesn't work and I have to admit I have a bit of pride in myself for being able to pick up fishing different methods and baits rather than being an angler that only does well at one way of fishing! Lastly the 2+2 line has been a good line for me, only trying it after watching Tommy Pickering fish it on a free Preston DVD given out in tackle shops! I only won one match outright off that line, but it gave me valuable extra fish on other days and got me a frame place from nowhere in the last hour on two occasions! That said, I had days where it was deader than a dodo too- you can't have it all! It's one not to give up on and I find it's so easy to keep topped up as feeding it by hand you don't have to stop what your doing!


Right, I guess that's enough of my ramblings, anyway I'm not sure if thinking so much about fishing has helped or made my withdrawal symptoms worse. Like I said I hope to get out this weekend and hopefully the arctic weather won't hang around too much longer so we can all get our fix. I hope you all had a good Christmas and tight lines all for 2011!

Sunday 12th December

After last weeks hard slog I was hoping that this week I'd manage to catch a fish! Despite some warmer weather we didn't manage to get rid of the ice though, with quite a sharp frost in the morning following a very pleasant day on Saturday- the weather really is against us at the moment!

With the typical low post Xmas match turnout (only 8 stayed) the ice was partially cleared quickly with the boat. Seven pegs on one bank in the late number pegs and peg 48 on the other bank- all pegs that weighed in last week. The one peg I didn't want was peg 48 as it's by far the shallowest peg and the sun barely touches the water on it. I suppose it's no real surprise then that it's the number I drew! Still, the one time the sun touched it was when I was taking the picture!


The ice was fairly well broken as the boat had been taken across to the other side from here so it took just two chucks of the ice breaker to clear the ice a touch to my left and let me fish in deeper water, and then my swim was pretty much ready. Two rigs were the order of the day, the first at 13m but towards the corner of the ice rather than the island. This was a 4x10 Preston Chianti in just over 3ft of water, on .12 line to a .10 hook-link and an 18 hook. Lakky was Preston 11h. The second rig was at 10m, again to my left on the edge of the ice. The water here was the deepest I could find at about 10cm deeper than the far line! Rig here was practically the same except on .12 direct and lakky was grey Hydro. The idea was corn here and maggot long. I was fishing pretty much just for a carp (but wouldn't complain at roach!) as a couple showed last week and the others also had holes cleared to allow them to fish long and I figured someone would catch one! Probably from the noted reed pegs as there were signs of carp there.


On the whistle I fed just two casters and the same of corn on the shorter line before trying long on an 8mm piece of punch without feeding there (yes, punch is now allowed again, hooray!) The punch gave no response so I switched to single maggot and set about dripping the odd maggot in long. To cut a long story short I grafted every bit as hard as last week, changing the shoting, trying different baits, working the rig, fishing up and laying line on the bottom but I never had a bite! Nobody else had a bite either until fifteen minutes before the match finished when one of the reed pegs actually had a fish- a bitterling! They went on to be the only catcher out of everybody with a haul of three bitterling and a roach in those last few minutes. We didn't bother t weigh them but my guess is less than 2oz for the lot of them! The only improvement over last week is I know I had a fish in my swim this week, as while fishing corn on the shorter line I'm sure I felt a fish brush the line as I lifted the rig, and this was followed about ten seconds later by the venues notorious monster ghostie swimming lazily past my keep net without a care in the world!


I'm not sure now when the next blog update will be, as to be honest I've had enough of ice breaking then working hard for no reward, and with the weather not looking like offering us a respite until the New Year I may skip the still water matches for a bit. If I need a fishing fix (no doubt I will!) between now and then I shall put some number 4's and 5's in my pole and visit some old river haunts with a few slices of bread and some punch crumb (now the collages have finished so there aren't thousands of rowers, grrr!), and yes, I do know how to catch a few fish from a river! So if I don't update this between now and then I'll wish everyone a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, and hopefully I'll pick up again with a hopefully un-weather interrupted winter league!

Fur and Feather- Eskimo Style!

I'll start off by apologising to those who checked last week for an update when there wasn't one! It wasn't because I done badly, I just didn't go because of the weather. It seemed I made the right choice as I enjoyed the Tottenham game where as the match was won with sixteen perch for 80z! 7oz and 4oz completed the frame weights and on a day when the temperature never got above -2 I think I made the right decision.

On the Saturday a few people had gone to the venue with ice-breakers and used them and the boat to clear a little of the ice, and with the temperature holding above zero overnight coupled with a little rain too it kept the venue fishable. On arriving an area of the new lake was actually ice-free (it had been for a few days) and some carp could be seen cruising near the surface, but they most definitely didn't look like they were in a mood to eat! Still, it's where everyone wanted to draw. I actually fancied a draw on the old lake as the masses of tiny roach would give a busy day, even through the ice but I didn't get my way and drew peg 18 on the new lake, where the ice was!


As I mentioned, the day previous some of the ice had been broken and I (like the others in the ice) had a small hole to about 5m out. I took off a few layers and set about making the hole a bit bigger! I cleared the ice to about 9m but struggled to chuck my ice breaker much further. Still, at least my breaker went through as someone else two pegs up was doing bouncing bomb impressions with a 7lb breaker. My breaker found it's self being used by a couple of others (it even made it to the other lake!) but not one person by way of thank-you took it back to the car park for me, just to my peg! They ALL had barrows too, where as I lug my gear on my back- think I'll be wanting a small usage fee for it next time.....

I decided to keep things simple as the only species I've ever caught on this lake through the ice are small perch which tend not to be tackle shy. Indeed the last time through the ice on that lake was just before Christmas last year on the same peg! I had one rig set up for two areas of my peg, at 9m on the edge of the ice as far as I could get, and one section closer but to my left and again on the edge of the ice. A slim 4x14 DC9 float was on .10 main line to a .09 hook-link and a size 20 B611. Lakky was Preston 9h. I found in the past I got just as many bites of the small perch on that gear as I did on anything lighter, while red maggot had been as good a bait as any
so I stuck with that in the hope that it would also cope with a bonus fish should one happen along. These would most likely be a skimmer or big perch above anything else given the conditions. Others were fishing much finer with pinkie or punch (allowed again for this match) but I was confident enough on maggot! Bait-wise I had red and white maggots (including some older ones that would hopefully still have some life in the cold water) a few casters and a small amount of Sonubaits F1 groundbait darkened down with black dye, hoping it may bring in a skimmer.

On the whistle I fed the furthest line with a marble sized pinch of crumb with just two maggots and casters in, while the closer line had just four maggots. I was going to drip odd maggots over the longer line to try and provoke life, while just leaving the other line. Normally it takes perhaps half an hour to get a bite in similar conditions so I played around with the rig over the longer line, trying just on or off the bottom, red or white maggot, lifting and jigging the rig or leaving it still. On the hour mark I have to admit I was worried about not having had a bite, and none of the four or five others I could see had either. I had a drop on the other line and tried the same things to provoke a bite but with absolutely no joy. Word came round that someone on the favoured reed pegs on the other lake had a carp, while the early pegs on my lake (where it was ice free and fish seen) had lost odd foul hookers.

On the two hour mark a carp had been caught in those early pegs, but again everyone I could see was bite less and odd people started to walk about. I decided to chop up a half a dozen maggots and feed them on the closer line but this failed too. I could see no point in scaling down as people fishing squatt or pinkie on much lighter gear were all bite less too! I kept up the rotating of the two swims, dripping an odd maggot on the far line while tinkering with the rig in an attempt to make a bite happen, but despite working hard to get a response I couldn't find it. I have to admit I was worried as I'd never blanked on the lake before, but it was looking likely!

With an hour to go the temperature dropped and cat-ice started to form around the edge of my ice hole. I got up and went for a bit of a walk to get the circulation going again and saw one of the early pegs dropping their second carp into their net before walking back and joining the ranks of the bite less (those that were still there) in the Eskimo holes. I gave it till ten minutes before the end before doing something I rarely do and packed up early! The sausage rolls and mince pies in the barn were calling me.......

In the end out of the sixteen or so drawn on my lake there were only three to weigh in, one angler with two carp (who won overall), one with one carp (second overall) and one with one carp and a small perch, beaten by two anglers on the other lake who'd had carp. Incidentally, all the carp on my lake were foul-hooked, meaning that just the one small perch was the only fish caught "properly" on my lake! There were a few catchers on the other lake- three anglers had caught a single carp while most of the others had a few small roach so I was right in wanting a draw on that lake! To cap the day off my peg number came out late in the peg raffle so my choice was a little limited, and had to "make do" (ahem!) with twelve cans of Carling-the brightest part of the day!

I have to admit that's the hardest I'd ever worked for a blank, but in the end I just had the feeling that there wasn't a fish in front of me to catch, and like I said even those fishing finer on my lake also failed to get a bite. It was just one of those days and I think that had I had bloodworm and joker it would have been no better. The weather is forecast to stay cold for a bit, albeit with a slight improvement by the weekend. Fingers crossed that will be the end of it!

Sunday November 21st

It has to be said that after not fishing last Sunday I was very eager to get out on the bank, although I didn't have my normal pre-draw walk round as I was engaged in something else that brought me much joy- gooner baiting! As you do really when your a Spurs fan and you beat them at their own place after giving them a two goal start.

With the Christmas match coming up in a fortnight some pegs went in the bag that generally ain't used, so that they're clear and have been fished beforehand. I drew one of those pegs (67) and I was pretty happy with it as the pegs either side that are normally used are both decent winter pegs. I was slightly tempered by the fact that the pegs in that area of the lake all blanked last week mind!

Plan of attack for the day was simple; a bomb rod and two pole lines. I was going to fish the bomb more to my left towards (but not on) the point of the island. This was standard winter bomb gear, using a 1/3oz Guru square pear lead running on 6lb line and stopped with a Korum quick change bead. I had a few hook-links to try on it, all tied on .15 line using either size 16 or 18 Kamasan Animals. The different hook-links allowed me to try various length traces and different multiples (or just a single) grain of corn. I plumbed around and at 13m found an area where there was a pronounced kink in the bottom. Peg 66 to the left is a fair bit shallower than 68 to the right and the bottom sloped away gently left to right but at about 11 o'clock there was a sharp difference of about a foot so I settled on fishing just away from this. Depth was just over 6ft and float here was a .4gr NG Decker on .15 line to a .14 hook-length and a 16 B611 hook, which looks tiny compared to the Fox hooks I use when it's warmer! A similar rig was put up for the 2+2 line but fished to my right a bit where it's a touch deeper, being as closer in was shallower and the colour has dropped from the water. This was in about 5ft of water and used basically the same rig as the long line but with a .3gr float, both set to fish at dead depth. Lastly I had a shallow rig set at 3ft for trying over the long line. This was on .14 direct to a 16 B611. All the pole rigs were matched to Preston 13h elastic.

On the whistle I fed the long line with four grains of corn and a small pinch of hemp, while the closer line received the same of corn and a tiny ball of softened micro pellets. I then cast the bomb at and angle between me and the point of the island, but about four or five meters short. I had a liner pretty quick so I was sure the tip would go but after fifteen minutes nothing had happened so I re-cast a bit shorter. Again I had signs of fish but again after near twenty minutes nothing came of it. I tried double corn this time, and again a touch shorter but also more in front of me. Again I had a liner but after another fruitless fifteen minutes the occasional liner failed to produce. I decided to try a small pellet cone to try and make a bite, and this was cast towards the point but about six meters short. Again I had a liner, but again a twenty minute wait failed to produce a bite. Still, nobody else I could see had caught either!

With over an hour gone I decided it was time to try the pole line, so I slipped a smallish grain of corn on and shipped out. Nothing came of this after quarter of an hour so I decided to try dripping a few casters over the long line every few minutes via a small pot to try and provoke a response. After two more fruitless drops on corn I slid the float up 1cm and decided to try double maggot. After a few minutes I was sure I had a slight movement on the float which was shotted to the merest pimple. After another minute there was the slightest of dip's under the water and a lift was met with the sight of elastic. I have to admit I played the fish very gingerly and after a few minutes a decent common of about 6lb was in the net. Baiting with double red again and putting just four casters in the pot I shipped out long again. It took a few minutes again but there was again a definite but very delicate sideways movement on the float. A minute or so after that the float ever so gently just dipped under the surface tension. Again the lift saw elastic out and after a much more comfortable fight a small common of perhaps 2lb was in the net. The next drop again gave me a very slight movement but it never developed, so conscious that there were still three hours left I decided to rest the swim, topping it up with just four casters and three grains of hemp.

I had a fruitless spell on the bomb again, but with no liners at all. During this time I saw peg 42 on the opposite bank catch a carp, then news came round that peg 59 round the island had five, including a double figure fish! And they'd moaned like billy-ho about the peg too! After wasting fifteen minutes on the bomb I went back on the pole but disaster struck when I foul-hooked a fish lifting and dropping the rig, with it coming off after two or three seconds. On cold days I've often had that be the end of the swim so I dripped in just three maggots and then left it alone. I had a five minute try on the close line (which I'd flicked very occasional grains of corn too) but nothing came of it, so I had another drop on the bomb. I had every intention of giving it fifteen minutes before trying the long pole again but after only five or six minutes I saw peg 42 catch two fish in quick succession so I dropped back on it a bit earlier.

Again, after a short wait a tiny sideways indication indicated the presence of a fish, with the (very delicate) bite following shortly after. A plump common of about 4lb was followed about ten minutes later by a small mirror of about 3lb. A ten minute wait with no signs led to me cupping in just four maggots and three grains of hemp before I had another fruitless try on the close line which I'd started to drip maggots on. I also had a quick try on the bomb but I'd lost confidence in it so only gave it five minutes. At this point news got round that peg 59 now had seven carp, while others started to catch odd fish too.

Back on the pole and the most positive bite of the day followed when after lifting and dropping the rig the float actually "dinked" out of sight! After a ponderous fight a common of perhaps nearer 7lb than six was in the net. Next drop followed the usual pattern of slight movement and very delicate bite. The bad news is the same slow steady pull of the last fish was followed by the fish coming off! The sky may have been dull the whole day, but the air certainly turned blue then I can tell you! I gave the line a quick rest, again topping up with just four maggots. I was never confident of the other two lines going so didn't give them long, and with just an hour to go I was back on the long line.

A missed bite led me to nudge the rig up to dead depth (the fish had all been hooked just inside the mouth) and the desired effect was had as the next three drops all produced fish. Nothing big, all being around the three pound mark. Again the same pattern happened, a very slight movement being followed by a very delicate bite shortly after, and each time I topped up with just three maggots. I then missed two sharper bites in quick succession so I decided to nudge the float up a tiny bit and the next bite produced a very un-expected crucian of about a pound and a quarter! The steady nature of the swim continued to the end with three slight indications all being followed by a fish, a chunky 4lb mirror and a brace of equally chunky commons, both around the 4lb mark, finishing the match on a nice round ten carp. The ninth carp showed the value of having plenty of the same length hook-links tied when the hook went in the net and bent, as I bit it off and very quickly replaced it with an identical one, allowing me to drop back quickly without checking the depth again. The last carp went in the net with five minutes to go and given the bites had all taken a touch longer than that I dropped in for the last minute expecting not to have enough time for another. I didn't!

While packing up news of peg 59's catch seemed to vary between seven and ten carp, although all said about them having one big lump. When the scales got to me peg 59 had weighed in just over 40lb, with the lump being a ghostie of 13lb 2oz! My crucian went 1-7 on the scales and pulling my other net out it looked as it would be very tight for first. I didn't look at the scales but I knew I had around 40lb, with the weight being called at 41-11, giving me a 43-2 total and a very narrow win. Just 9lb something was third although someone threw back four carp and almost certainly third place as someone had apparently told them that everyone was bagging up! Oops.

Next week is back on lake one, and given that it hasn't had a match on it for a while I'm expecting it to be very hard. The weather forecast doesn't exactly look promising either.....

Sunday November 7th

I'll start with my now customary weekly moan about the weather! After a lovely mild week why do we have to get a days cold rain at the end of the week and then a sharp frost Saturday night. Still, I wouldn't want to be sitting out there right now in that wind.....

While waiting for the draw and chatting about pegs someone mentioned about peg 42 being no good. I kind of sprang to it's defence saying that it's pretty consistent all year round and nearly always produces fish, then putting my hand in the bag I was given a chance to prove what I had said (or eat my words) as that's what I drew! I was fairly happy with that, and it's a nice short walk!

Approach for the day was pretty simple really, three pole rigs for two lines and a bomb rod! The 13m and 5m rigs were practically identical, using a .3gr NG Floats Decker in about 5ft of water. the depth was about four inches difference but a separate rig allowed me to keep a nice short line above the float when fishing short. I also had a half depth shallow rig too, using a 4x10 PB2 float. All the rigs were with .13 hook-links (direct on the shallow rig) and had size 20 Fox Series 2 hooks, and all on Preston 13h elastic. The bomb rod was my trusty 10ft Drennan and was to be my starting gambit.

On the whistle the long line received three grains of corn and a pinch of hemp, while the close line had half a dozen grains of corn. I baited up the bomb with a single hair rigged grain of corn and used a tiny Guru pellet cone the give a little bait to the area. This was cast just short of mid-way but to my left. I did this as nobody was that way on the lake so it was a nice quiet area and hopefully somewhere the fish would move too out of the way of noisy anglers walking around before the start! It had been out no more than a minute when the tip nudged as if a fish was near, then only a few minutes later it pulled round with a fish on! Not massive at about a pound twelve but a quick start. I had a liner next cast but nothing on the cast after so on the three quarter of an hour mark I swapped to the pole.

I could see odd fish cruising around, but all were on the opposite side of the lake in the sun - as per usual I had drawn the cold side of the lake, and sat in the shade all day and was quite cool. I missed a bite first drop on corn but no more followed, so on the hour mark I started to toss-pot in odd grains of hemp and a few casters in an attempt so spark some life. Probably fifteen minutes after I started to get odd indications that I suspected were from roach, as some were topping in my swim. I gave it a short while on the shallow rig in case they were from carp higher in the water but nothing came of it, the showing fish were all still on the sunny side of the lake! Going back on the deck I decided to try maggot, and low and behold a small roach fell to double white, but fell off as I un-shipped. Back out on maggot and no quick bite, instead it was five minutes before the float slid under and lifting in to what I thought would be a roach wasn't a roach! Only a small carp, not much over a pound, but everyone was struggling with the exception of 46 in the deep water (where I was last week) who'd had three carp off the same short line I caught late from last week. A few minutes after that carp another slow bite saw me lift in to a fish, but after a second or two it came off and left me with a scale on the hook. Nothing came in the next ten minutes or so, so I cupped in two grains of corn and a few casters and left it.

My next try was on the close line, which I had been throwing grains of corn in ones and two's on, but I had no joy on this so I had two casts on the bomb, leaving each for about fifteen minutes but I didn't even have a liner. Dropping back on the longer pole line on maggot and a quick bite saw me catch a roach of an ounce. I switched to corn and a response was pretty quick in coming and saw me attached to a bigger fish. After a few minutes a chunky mirror nudging 5lb was in the net. It didn't take long next chuck to get another bite, albeit from a much smaller fish of about 2lb, again on corn, but any thoughts of a run of fish soon went as the next few drops were bite less.

I had a fruitless spell trying the bomb and even a short spell on the shallow rig but they came to nothing so with an hour and a quarter to go I found myself on the 5m line. I had a liner lowering the rig in so that gave me some confidence and after a short while I had my first bite here which produced another small fish just nudging the 2lb mark. I gave it a while longer although the swim showed occasional signs of life I couldn't get a proper bite, even trying away from the feed a touch, a trick that normally works. A quick try on the bomb to rest it gave me a small carp of not much more than a pound after a near ten minute wait, so I had another cast which saw the rod near pulled of the rest not long after setting the tip. This led to me playing a 3lb'er to the net with the spare hook-link that I was baiting up stuck in my hand! I didn't get a bite next drop so with half an hour left I came back to the 5m line. I had a bite here quickly and a fish that I'm sure wasn't foul-hooked powered off and then came adrift. I plugged away here for the rest of the match for nothing, but close to the end it did show signs of fish. In hindsight I should have tried the long line or gone back to the tip after losing that fish really.

As first to weigh in my fish went 18lb 11oz on the scales, while the next peg (same angler on the same peg that won last week) had just over 12lb. Peg 46 then put 36lb 9oz on the scales for a comfortable win. A few weights of 10-11lb was about the sum of all the other people weighing, leaving me in second, but I saw two people tip back that may well have had enough for 3rd! A bit daft really.

Last of all, just a quick note to say I wont be blogging next week as I shall be away over the weekend, but I'll be back raring to get out on the bank the week after!

Sunday 31st October

You have to wonder if the fish know what's going on, after two weeks of frosts the last few days have been mild with temperatures up to 16 degrees C!

Walking around before the draw it was the first time I didn't think the pegs around the back of the island would be the place to draw, with leaves being out in the main bowl of the lake and carp, loving floating leaves, being underneath them. Pegs 44 and 70 with the little island between them looked to be where most of the fish were. When I went to draw pegs 66, 68 and 70 were left, I'd have been happy with any of them. It was only when I noticed that 46 was still in that I saw it was in my hand, I've been wanting that all summer! I was fairly happy with it mind.

I decided on three areas to target, 13m long in the open water, a 2+2 line and down the edge. With the colour dropping out I wasn't expecting the margins to go, but it was still an area to target just in case. The rigs for the long line and closer line were near identical, both with .3gr NG Floats Deckers on .15 line to a .13 hook-link and size 20 Fox Series 2's. The longer line had a 13 hollo elastic while the closer line had black hydro. The depth difference was only four inches (about six and a half feet) but having different rigs meant I could keep the line nice and short above the float on both with the calm conditions. I had a shallow rig for the long line, set about three feet it was a 4x10 Preston PB2 on .13 line to a 20 Fox Series 2. Elastic was 13 hollo. Last up was a margin rig. I fished this at 8m down the edge, a touch further than I would normally due to the water clarity. In three feet of water it was a 4x12 Preston Somo on .15 direct to a 20 Fox Series 2 and fished on 15 Hollo.

On the whistle the long line had half a dozen grains of corn and a small pinch of hemp, the 5m line a dozen grains of corn and the margin had the same as the long line plus a few micros. Unsurprisingly, no indications came quick and after a few minutes I started to toss-pot in grains of corn in ones and two's with a few grains of hemp. By the time I started doing this I'd watched the three anglers opposite all catch a fish, plus peg 44 to my left fishing to a lilly bed. It was forty minutes in to the match when I had my first liner, this was followed next chuck by another liner which I left and for a split second it pulled on the end before coming off! There were signs of fish cruising and on the hour mark I picked up the catty and started flicking odd casters over the long line.


I gave the deck rig a few more minutes but with no bites I picked up the shallow rig. I wasn't feeding a lot with the catty, just casters in two's and three's every minute or two just so something was falling through the water. I missed the first bite I had but after ten minutes a bite saw me connected to a fish and after a brief scrap a common of about 3lb was in the net. I gave the shallow rig another half an hour after, trying it up and down in depth and past the feed but all it produced was a small roach. Going back on to the deck rig and I had a bite almost instantly on corn and soon another 3lb common was in the net. Topping up with two grains of corn and six of hemp it took perhaps five minutes before another bite saw me attached to another fish identical to the first two. The next drop and as I was lowering in the rig something grabbed the bait and wrenched the elastic out but within a couple of seconds it came off.


The lost fish saw an end to bites so I had my first drop on the close line which I'd been dripping odd grains of corn on to by hand. A ten minute spell on this produced nothing so I also had a brief go in the margins, giving it just five minutes without any indications. I topped the edge line up and again tried the long line. No bites on the deck so I dropped the shallow rig over it (I'd been dripping casters over it still) but the only bites were from 1oz roach which tended to come off! Pegs 48 and 70 were both catching steadily and were well ahead of anyone else but behind them nobody was running away with it and nobody else I could see had more than four carp.

Nothing followed for a spell and with two hours to I decided to stop feeding casters long (I find it works earlier, plus we'd had some cold showers too so I decided catching 'up' was unlikely) and gave the swim a decent pinch of hemp and corn to try and kick-start it. The margin was lifeless so I gave that a decent pinch of bait too. With an hour and a half left I had the first sign of life on the 5m line and a few minutes after that I had a lively 3lb'er. Odd indications followed after but no bites so I rotated round the other lines but had no signs. With an hour to go 44 and 70 had slowed but were still getting odd fish and were well ahead, but with 3rd looking up for grabs I decided that the 5m line would be the best chance, especially with the light dropping, and it had been the only line to show signs of life for a while too.


With just forty minutes left others had started nabbing odd carp, and I then missed two bites in a row on the close line. I decided to nudge the float up an inch to try and hit them, and it worked with the float burying next drop and a better fish being on the end. After a decent fight a ghostie of about 5lb was in the net. With half an hour to go I put a small pot on the pole to keep the feed tight and the last spell of the match produced four more carp, all of that same decent stamp. The last one was in the net with four minutes to go but I didn't have enough time to get another to let me finish up with an even ten! I just needed a few more minutes.....


When the scales got to me peg 44 was top weight with 40lb 12oz, a bit less than most people thought they would have. Pulling my nets out people were saying it looked close but I knew there wasn't enough, with my fish going 37lb 4oz. This was comfortably second until peg 70 opposite weighed in 39lb 2oz and I had to settle for third, close, but no cigar!


I was quite pleased in the end, despite being just one fish off a win. I didn't realise I'd be so close but my late larger stamp fish pushed them near and just goes to show that you shouldn't give up. Perhaps I could have nabbed a fish on the bomb in the long dead spells but with anglers opposite chucking feeders to the middle it wasn't the quiet area I like beyond the pole to fish it, as I would barely have been casting past the pole line. You can't win them all!

Sunday 24th October

While I'm sure this time last year it definitely only seemed like Autumn, this year there has certainly been a touch of winter! Looking out at 11pm Saturday night revealed a clear, cold night and a full moon, and together I find they don't make the best conditions for fishing. What turned out to be a very slight touch of frost at 7am in my back garden got harder the nearer we got to the venue too, making me fear a hard day.

I was very surprised on walking round to find that the lake held a decent colour, and all round unlike the last time when it seemed patchy. I was fairly pleased with my draw, with peg 12 in my hand. It seems to be a peg that holds smaller fish, but on a cold day they are often more reliable. It's also an area that's been in decent form of late too.

I had four rigs up for the day, two for the island (14.5m was enough to reach into the small bay), a track rig at 6m and lastly a margin rig. I was going to fish quite light across but plumbing up revealed a fair size obstruction coming out from the bank to the left of where I decided to fish, while to the right are some submerged tree stumps, which point towards the near bank and to the left, meaning you're fishing behind them to reach the island. The main rig was a 4x10 Preston Chianti in not quite 3ft of water, on .15 line to a .13 hook-link (I was using a hook-link because of the snags) A size 20 Fox Series 2 hook and Preston 15 Hollo elastic finished the rig. Quite strong considering, but I wanted to get them out! The other rig for across was a 4x10 Preston PB2 set a foot off the deck. Line was .13 direct to the same hook as the last rig. I had a softer 13 Hollo elastic on this, to stop the fish splashing but would scale it up if I was losing fish. The middle line was a .3gr NG Floats Decker on .15 line to .13 and the same hook, again on 13 hollo, while the margin rig was the same as the far line deeper rig. Depth down the track was about five and a half foot, with three foot down the edge.

For some reason or other I wasn't quite ready at the start, so I fed the track line with a golf ball of crumb with a few micro's in, while the margin had a pinch of hemp and pellet plus four grains of corn. Some six or seven minutes later I shipped across on a 4mm expander with a tiny fruit-shoot lid pot filled with a few micros and a tiny pinch of crumb. It was probably only a minute before my first bite and a mirror of about 14oz was in the net, after freeing it from the snag which it bolted strait into!. After that fish no bites were forthcoming, and I began to have bad thoughts over the times I've had a fish first drop and it's proved to be the only one.....

Half an hour after starting, while I had been dropping in tiny amounts of crumb with just three or four micro's in, I slipped a grain of corn on the hook. I had a liner almost instantly before foul-hooking and losing a fish a few minutes later as I lifted the rig up. Another foul-hooker a few minutes later, which I again lost, led me to try the shallow rig. I did eventually get a bite on this fishing caster but from a fat perch about 4oz in weight. I went back on the deck after that and on the hour mark I had a slightly bigger carp of around a pound and a half on pellet, followed a crucian of about 10oz. Bites again faded after this and despite plugging away for another half an hour all I managed was two missed bites.

With just hour an hour and a half gone I decided to drop in on the track line on pellet. I waited only short while before a bite led to a sluggish resistance from a (very welcome) skimmer of about a pound and a quarter. No more followed so I topped the line up with another small ball of crumb, topped the margins up with a small amount of bait and went back across. A flurry of missed bites on the deeper rig led to try shallow again, and I missed the first two bites on that before shallowing up and connecting with a plump crucian nudging a pound in weight. This was followed shortly after by a common of about half a pound before bites tailed off for a bit, leading to spells on all three lines which didn't produce. I took the maggots (you know it's getting cold now!) out of the cool bag but all they produced were tiny wasp-like perch so I gave that idea up.

On the midpoint of the match I decided to try caster on the deck across, as I had dripped a (very) few in while using the shallow rig. I deepened the rig up to lay 3cm of line on the deck but this gave no joy, so with nothing to lose I slipped a pellet back on without changing the depth. That proved to be a good idea as a run of three carp, all about 2lb a piece followed, before predictably the bites slowed. The next fish coming took three times as long for the bite and it resulted in a crucian of about 8oz. With the sun on the far bank there were signs of fish moving shallow over the bait so I dropped in on the shallow rig, but I was very surprised to have no response at all on this. In the end I dropped it as far left as I dared, near the brambles growing behind the tree in the water visible in the pic. I eventually had a bite here and after a bit of a tussle my biggest fish of the day, a common of about two and half pound was in the net.

The next hour was somewhat slow, with just an odd small crucian or carp falling to pellet, nothing bigger than 8oz falling. The two closer lines were totally unproductive, even on maggot so I plugged away across. With just over an hour to go, with the sun (and temperature) dropping bites really started to fade away. I decided to slip on a grain of corn and a sharp dink on the float saw me attached to a very sluggish resistance which I expected to wake up any second. Halfway back and I realised it wouldn't as what seemed something very breamy plodded around and them surfaced, a skimmer of about 2lb! That proved to be the last proper bite, and I plugged away across due to lack of bites from the other lines. I had two liners which led to me alternating between the deck and shallow rig but I finished the match without adding anymore to the nets.

I was pleased to have had a few bites, as the three anglers I could see had all struggled, while I guessed I'd have around 18lb. However, one angler on the 20's was admitting to three decent carp, while another admitted to three carp and end peg 40 was admitting to three lumps. Given that one of those pegs weighed in three fish for 28lb in the last match I wasn't sure of framing. I was one of the earliest to weigh and was surprised lifting out my silvers net with it going 11lb 8oz, a couple of pound more than I thought. I was Damn close with my other net prediction of five carp for 10lb mind, as they went 10lb 1oz! As it turned out my 21lb 9oz total was enough to win, with peg 40's three fish going 18lb 2oz and 16lb odd being third.

Yes, winter has definitely arrived!

When Jack Frost Comes Knocking!

With the first frost forecast I wasn't really sure what to expect on Sunday, but I did know that from walking around the lake I fancied a draw from 62 to anywhere in the 70's, with the sun facing them from early, and the fact that they would be in the sun all day I reckoned on those being the pegs to draw. The other side of the lake was distinctly cooler, with a touch of frost present on the ground between pegs 48 and 51.

For some reason I found myself in the draw queue about half-way down, earlier than I like to be, and when my hand came out of the bag I was somewhat disappointed to find peg 48 in my hand! In to the fridge it was then! Peg 48 has been somewhat a strange peg for me in the past, but generally it does one of two things; fishes well, or fishes hard!

With plenty of time to set up I decided on four rigs. I had two for the island, the first a 4x10 Preston Chianti on .15 line direct to a size 20 Fox Series 2 hook. The second had the same float and hook but on lighter .13 line. The stronger rig was matched to Preston 15h lakky, while the lighter was on a 13h. Depth here was not quite 2ft tight at 13m. The third rig was for 5m. Depth here was about 4ft and in the flat calm conditions a .2gr NG Floats Decker was plenty. Terminal gear was the usual .17 line to a .15 hook-link and an 18 Fox Series 2 hook, fished on black Hydro. I was reluctant to scale down on this line as when it goes on this peg they tend to be big fish. Last up was a margin line for 6m along the bank to my left. In not quite 3ft of water a 4x12 Preston Somo (I've changed the bristle to a plastic one) was used on .15 line direct to an 18 Fox Series 2 hook. Preston 15h finished this rig.

Just before the whistle I had the sun on my peg (not the water though!) to make a nice picture, but by the time I started I was most definitely in the shade again. The far line got just a pinch of 4mm pellets, while the 5m line had the same but with a few grains of corn. The margins had a pinch of hemp, a few grains of corn and just six small cubes of meat. I was reluctant to feed more at the start with the cold, after all, I could always step it up if I needed.

It took about five minutes for me to get the first indication on a 4mm expander, but I missed it. Strait back in and my suspicions were confirmed as a roach of about an ounce nabbed the pellet. I slipped on a grain of corn and started to drip a few pellets in to try and make a response. By this time everyone I could see opposite had a fish (carp) and some were even in t-shirts! With no sun on me I had my fleece zipped right up! After forty minutes or so a liner led to a bite on corn, and after a short but spirited fight a small mirror was in the net. Size-wise, I debated on which net to put it in (carp under a pound and silvers in one net) before decided it was just over a pound and put it in the big net. At least then both nets had fish in them! I tried dropping in without feeding next chuck, but after five minutes without sign I went back to dripping pellets in, but with no joy unless I went back to a small expander which produced an odd 1oz roach.

On the hour and a half mark I decided to come away from the island and drop in on the 5m line which I had been flicking odd grains of corn on to. I had a liner here which led to me staying on it a bit longer, but with nothing else after another ten minutes I abandoned it for the far line, after topping up the margins again. Practically on the two hour mark on the dot, the sun reached the island where I was fishing and the result was near instantaneous! Shame I missed it! Next drop and this resulted in another pasty mirror, a touch bigger than the first. I was starting to think about putting a few fish together but but that was the end of that with the next hour bite-less, and the sun once again left the island.

I felt upon leaving the island that I had nothing to lose in upping the feed, so I cupped in a quarter of a pot of pellets before dropping in on the margins. This was fruitless too so I decided that with an hour and forty or so to go to give that a decent pot of bait, giving it half a pot of casters and some come (something different) before dropping in on the 5m line. I had a bite instantly here and a common of about 2lb was the result, but no more followed. Going as I had with the other lines, with nothing to lose that too got a bigger amount of bait.

I decided to go down the edge on corn, and this produced knocks so I decided to switch to caster. Two small roach in as many drops were followed by and identical bite next chuck which saw considerably more elastic come out. A lively fight saw a ghostie of about 6lb in the net and the end of the bites here. Thinking that as caster had given the best fish smaller biats may be the way I put a quarter of a pot of choppy and caster in, but the only sign I had until the end here was a tail waving at me ten minutes before the end, which promptly disappeared when I lowered half a worm in front of it. The only other action of note was a flurry of missed bites on the 5m line. This led to me both deepening up and shortening the line above the float and when I did then hit one, it was a fully scaled mirror that weighed all of about 2oz! After this the tail waved at me and when that done it's disappearing act I did something I seldom do- packed up early!

As it happened in the end, for those that sat in the sun it fished quite well, with corner peg 62 winning with 60lb odd, with some near 40lb weights behind and quite a few 30's. I wasn't the only one who struggled and the others in the shade to my right mustered (I think) seven carp between three of them. Still, there's always next week!

Sunday October 10th

With the weather being pretty decent all week I was hopeful of a decent days fishing, although walking round the lake before the match it was noticeable that the colour had dropped out of the water in certain areas. I was happy with the draw when number 14 was in my hand, with a nice long margin and the water still holding a reasonable tinge of colour compared to the later numbered pegs.


Plan of attack was the usual areas- a rig for across at 16m (a 4x10 Preston Chianti with a plastic tip in 3ft of water), a 5m line (using a .3gr NG Floats Decker in 5ft of water) and a margin rig for 13m to my left towards a corner ( a 4x12 Preston Somo, again in about 3ft of water) The margin and far bank rigs had floats with finer tips than those I've used of late with the water cooling down. The rigs were all on .15 (hook-link in the case of the deep rig) with 18 Fox Series 2's on them. Elastic was Preston 15h on the two shallower rigs and black Hydro on the deeper. With a few minutes to go I also decided to put up a shallow rig for using against the island, a ploy that works well for me when it's a bit cooler. A 4x10 PB2 float on .13 line direct to a 20 Fox Series 2 and Preston 13h was the lighter set up for this. Putting this rig up meant I wasn't ready at the start, hence why the pic is after the match!


I fed the margins with a pinch of hemp, corn and meat, while the 5m line had about a dozen grains of corn. First drop across was when any bait went in, with three grains of corn and half a dozen 4mm pellets topped off with a little groundbait. I started to get odd signs after a minute or so and after five minutes by first bite produced a skimmer of about 2oz. The next drop resulted in the pellet being shredded by small fish. A switch to a grain of corn produced a missed bite before giving me a small common of about a pound and a half. Floating leaves started to be a problem then and I had to re-plumb a little further along to get past where they were gathering!


I missed two or three bites on corn in the new area before I connected with one, and after a very lively fight a common of about 4lb was in the net- hooked neatly in the tail root! Bites faded after so I took the opportunity to top up the margin line before trying the shallow rig as odd carp were browsing among the drifting leaves but it bought no joy, and the same happened with a five minute try on the 5m line. Back across and a quick bite on corn on the deck produced a common of about 3lb before bites totally faded.


I plugged away across until the two hour mark when I had a try on the two closer lines. The 5m line produced nothing while a liner on the margin line led to to give it longer than I was going to for no reward! A spate of knocks that never developed on the deck across led to try the shallow rig again, shallowing it up to a foot deep before slipping double caster on the hook. I missed a sharp dig first drop, but a few minutes later another bite led to a ghostie of about 3lb. The next drop produced an almost instant bite and a better fish was the result with a chunky 5lb'er making it's way to the net. The next drop didn't go to plan though and a missed bite saw me attached to a snag in the water. As I shipped back to try and free the rig I heard a muffled "pupf" as I reached the no5 section and looked up to see the no2 section of the top-kit broke! The first time I'd used that top on the pole too, and while I'm aware the match-lite kits are only rated to a 12 I don't think a 13 hollow elastic was overdoing it!


I couldn't get a bite across after this so I decided on a drop in the margins. I missed a bite before the next one resulted in a crazy fight from very old looking torpedo shaped 3lb'er. I missed two or three more bites after before a switch to a small cube of meat had an instant result and produced a carp of about 5lb. I did have a few liners after so I topped up with a pinch of bait and went back across. Two carp in two chucks on the shallow rig (now with heavier 15h elastic after the miss-hap!) was the result, both shallow on caster and both around the 4lb mark. Bites faded on this after, and with the sun off the water now due to the tall tree's behind I decided to try the on the deck. With no joy on this I had a drop on the 5m line, but this was strangely quiet so it was back in the edge with an hour and a half to go.


I had a frustrating spell of missed bites here, both on corn and meat, which led to much rig tinkering. In the end I took a shot off the rig and waited a bit longer! This produced two good fish in a short while, the biggest perhaps nudging 7lb before I started to miss bites again! Eventually, with an hour to go carp number twelve fell, although smaller than the last two at not much more than 2lb. I then had to sit the last hour out as I couldn't get a bite off any line on any bait, and I have to admit I got quite worried as the peg to my right had six carp in as many drops from their margin swim before that died too with twenty minutes left.


On waiting for the scales I knew peg five had a few, and the main danger apart from that was peg twelve who'd had that late spell of what looked to me good fish. When the scales got to me those two had weighed in 34lb and 30lb, and my dozen fish went just over a pound more than my guess of 47lb, nudging the scales to 48lb 4oz. With nobody else having much more than 20lb it was enough for the win, but despite that I have to say I was still a little frustrated over the amount of missed bites! I wont fret too much over the busted top-kit, hopefully my tackle dealer and Garbolino will deal with that nicely for me!

100 Not Out!

Doesn't time fly! And for my 100th post it was back on the same lake as I started this blog just over two years ago.

Walking around the lake and thankfully the tree's were sheltering it from the worst of the wind, with barely a ripple on the surface despite the wind howeling through the tree's. I quite fancied peg 14 as the leaves were gathering in the corner in 15 and, providing it stayed fishable, I thought long down the edge would be a good bet. I didn't draw it though! I had mixed feelings about peg 20- it used to be a proper flyer but it's recent form hasn't been great and it hasn't done a weight above 20lb for a fair time.

My first line of attack was at 16m just to my left on the island, on the edge of the bay visible in the pic. In previous times on the peg I've caught tight in the bay in a foot of water but the colour has dropped out slightly so I fished in about 2ft of water here. Rig was a NG Floats XTM on .15 line direct to an 18 Fox Series 2. Lakky was Preston 15h. Second rig up was for the margins to my right at about 9m. I had near 3ft of water here and gear was a .2gr DC5 on .18 direct to a 16 Fox Series 2, again with 15h lakky. Last up was a rig for 5m. In not quite 5ft of water rig was a .3gr NG Decker on .17 line to a .15 hook-link. Hook was an 18 Fox Series 2 and lakky was black hydro.

On the whistle I fed the far line with about twenty 4mm pellets and a pinch of loose crumb, while the 5m line had a quarter of a pot of corn with a pinch of hemp. Lastly, the margins had a third of a pot of hemp, meat and corn. Dropping across on a 6mm expander and I had a bite after only a minute or so. I played the common of about 4lb to the net before it got stuck round a straggly lilly in the edge and pulled off, trashing the rig in the process! Not a great start! On with a fresh rig and it didn't take long to get another response, and a solid 3lb common was soon in the net. Topping up with half a dozen pellets and a pinch of crumb saw another solid common join the first in the net in a matter of minutes before a spell of missed bites ensued as the rain started.

The rain heralded the start of a very frustrating spell where I was still getting bites but missing them. I tried corn on the hook, changing depths and the shotting and cutting out feeding the crumb, but in the next half an hour I probably missed ten bites. Eventually I caught a tiny roach on pellet but I'm sure they weren't the cause of all the bites! The swim faded after this and the bites died totally. I had a brief drop on the 5m line but ten bite-less minutes here saw me back across. I decided to try some choppy to kick-start the swim but all this bought was a few 2oz perch before that too faded.

It was the half-way mark in the match before any signs of life appeared. I saw a fish cruising in the very shallow water in the margins to my right so I dropped in on a cube of meat. It didn't take long for a bite and soon a nice chunky 5lb common was in the net but no more followed, and for the next hour I couldn't buy a bite anywhere. Eventually, a single grain of corn in the margins tricked another chunky 5lb'er. I missed a bite next drop and that was the end there for a while.

With just under two hours left I decided to feed a new swim on the far bank, half a section further to my left, and using just a tiny amount of crumb and a few grains of corn via the toss-pot. I'm not sure if it was this or the end of the rain and a lift in the temperature but after a two drops I had signs of life and the third drop gave me a bite. After a rather crazy fight a stunning looking silver/gold koi of about 6lb was netted, and almost immediately next drop it was followed by a mirror of about 4lb. The next few drops saw odd indications and just as I was about to give it a rest a bite produced a beautiful almost pure white ghostie which weighed about 2lb and fought like it was 22lb.

A lack of indications on the next drop led me to rest the swim and come in, and a try on the 5m line was useless so I found myself back in the edge. I missed the first bite, again on corn, and the second was a while in coming although again a decent fish of about 5lb. With nothing on the next drop I went across again, but bumping a fish saw the end of any action there and I spent the last spell of the match alternating across and the margins looking for bites. Just ten minutes before the end I had a decent common of around 7lb down the edge, and sticking it out there saw me miss a bite just before the end that I probably hit a touch too quick!

When the scales got to me there were weights of 36lb and 33lb. I had a level 1lb of bits and my nine carp went exactly 42lb for a nice and easy piece of adding up. I knew however that it would only be enough for second as peg 37 had spent the second half of the match bagging, putting not quite 63lb on the scales. In hindsight that was probably an achievable weight off my peg on the day (only three or four more fish at the stamp I had) and catching early probably led to me going at it a touch to much. What I didn't know also was that my peg was fished the day before in a match, something that would have led me to hang back a bit. I also think a more delicate rig, both across and in the edge would have given more hit-able bites. Time to put the summer gear away!

Sunday 26th September

First of all, I'll apologise for the use of a "library" picture, but with the rain for the entire day I didn't want to get the camera out! We were back an lake two this Sunday, and while the last few days had been cooler I still fancied the island pegs to be the area to draw, although with a rather cold wind anywhere out of that would do. As you can seen from the (old) picture I didn't have an island in front of me! My home for the day was peg 68. I wasn't sure really what to expect from the peg- it's about the deepest on the lake (the same as 46 opposite) but it doesn't have the nice shallow margins that 46 has, with a good 5ft of water next to the reeds. It's a peg I've had a few times before and either had decent days off it or struggled.


Rig-wise for the day I started off with a deck rig for 13m. This was a .4gr NG Decker float, a nice stable pattern that would hold still in the skim in the six and half foot of water. This rig also doubled for the 2+2 line where it was about five inches shallower. This rig was on .17 line to a .15 hook-link and an 18 Fox series 2 hook. Elastic on this was black hydro. I also put up two shallow rigs on this line, but whether they'd be any good would remain to be seen. I also put up a tip rod to try if I was struggling. I'd elected to ignore the margins as they're so deep, I had the 2+2 line close to me and didn't think I needed another line so close to me in water not much shallower.


On the whistle the long line had a quarter of a pot of hemp and corn, while the 2+2 line had a third of a pot of corn. Starting on the long line on corn and very little was doing, and even toss-potting small amounts of hemp and corn every few minutes failed to get a response. On the half hour mark odd fish could be seen cruising, despite the rain, occasionally rising for a leaf. I decided to pick the catty up and flick a few pellets in, but stick on the deck rig for the time being. The rattle off loose pellet seemed to have an effect on some fish as I started to get odd nudges on corn, so I tried a pellet but this was just shredded by small roach. I went back out with a piece of corn and a bite which saw the lakky streaming out followed. I played the fish to the net and the moment I lifted the top-kit the common of about 3lb came off!

The swim carried on in the same vein after this, and even trying the shallow rig was fruitless, unless I tried and expander which was shredded whatever rig I tried it on. After an hour and forty I decided to have a drop on the closer line, which I had been regularly feeding by hand. First drop on a grain of corn gave me a common of about a pound and a half almost instantly, but no more bites followed. I had a last few minutes after on the long line which I had put half a pot of bait in before leaving but that failed to bring it to life so I decided to abandon the line and try a small method feeder about 16m out. I had a few casts on this and I was just beginning to think it wasn't going when the tip pulled round and a cruician of about a pound was in the net. Next cast saw a carp of about 3lb fall, both to corn before this line slowed and odd nudges were all the next couple of casts produced. With the pegs on the opposite bank catching in their shallow margins, and the match at the halfway mark I needed something to switch on for me!


Dropping back on the close line seemed to be the answer, as the next hour saw seven fish fall on this line all to single corn fished just over-depth. I'd shortened the line right up on this rig and just a gentle lift saw me connect with every bite I had in that hour, and topping up with a few grains of corn after each fish kept them there. None of the fish were big, all about 3lb, but it was fish going in the net none-the-less. The swim seemed to slow a bit after, although I was still getting indications, so I potted in about twenty grains of corn and left it for about twenty minutes while I had another go on the tip, although this was fruitless.


Going back over the close line saw bites coming, although not quite as fast and I started to miss odd bites. I was still catching though, but having to search the swim. Previously I was catching just to the right of where I was loose-feeding, where I guessed the feed was landing in the tow but I was having to fish around it to keep bites coming. I also found it better shallowing up and fishing at dead depth. The next hour saw seven more carp fall, and while the average stamp was the same 3lb'ers, the only two bites I'd had fishing right to the left of the bait in that time (above it with the tow direction) produced two bigger fish, one about 5lb and one about 7lb, with the biggest fish falling with an hour to go exactly.


The last hour proved to be very slow going, with bites hard to come by on the close line, and despite tinkering with the rig and depth, and trying both double corn and small bits of meat I seemed to be missing any bites I got. A spell back on the tip gave me another crucian and carp number sixteen before trying back on the close line. This produced only a small carp of about a pound and one fish that I bumped and I didn't manage to add to my net in the last twenty minutes, only missing two bites. In hindsight I wish I'd spent the last spell on the tip.


When the scales got to me the top three weights had come from the two pegs opposite, and peg 53 in the corner round the island. With 59lb 2oz being top, 57lb 9oz second and 47lb third the top was close. I honestly thought I'd be settling for third with about 55lb in the nets. With the weights being totted up after my three weights (two for carp and one for my two crucians) I really thought I was narrowly second but it turned up that I was narrowly first with a total of
59lb 5oz, which made a whole day sat in the rain seem worthwhile in the end! Looking at my gear after you'd have thought it had been in a lake all day, not beside one!

Sunday 19th September

After last Sundays struggle on lake 1 I was looking forward to going back on lake 2, except that lake 2 had a club booking so the open was on lake 1 again! Still, at least peg 27 wasn't in, so all I needed to do was avoid the other pegs in the 20's and I'd have been a happy man at the draw. I was somewhat miffed then when my hand came out of the bag with peg 25 in it, as not only did it DNW last week, but the angler on it actually blanked!

Having walked around the lake before the draw there was very little sign of movement anywhere on the lake, with the early morning rain seeming to have put everything down. I had won of the peg the two previous times I'd drawn it so while it had no recent form, fish do have fins and swim! First job up was finding a suitable area to target across. After a fair bit of plumbing around to find an area clear of roots I eventually had a small area, perhaps two feet wide tight to the island to target, where the slope was nicely manageable, at 16m and just to my right. Depth here was about 2ft. Simple rig set up was a small NG Floats XTM on .15 line direct to an 18 Fox Series 2 hook. Lakky was Preston 15h. Second rig up was for the 2+2 line. Depth was just over 6ft here, but I wasn't that optimistic on it going as I never seem to catch on it in the 20's! Last up was a margin. I had to do a bit of bank side trimming to allow me to drag the rig in to the only area I could find suitable- a tiny area about the size of a shoe box at a distance of my top-kit plus the short no 4 to my left. Rig for here was the standard .18 line to a 16 Fox Series 2 hook, with purple Hydro. I'm sure regular readers will know the form by now with regards to rigs!

On the whistle I fed across with just a dozen or so pellets, while the two closer lines both had about a third of a pot (hemp, meat and corn) I was being a little more cautious after the slow form of the area and one or two colder nights. Starting across on a 6mm expander and it took ten minutes for before any movement appeared, slight dinks almost certainly from small fish. I started to trickle a few pellets in via a small pot after, and this produced a liner which was followed up by a roach of about 1oz. The next couple of drops gave more knocks so I tried a grain of corn over. This done the job of avoiding the roach and after a short while gave me my first carp of the day, a small common of about a pound and a half. Topping up with a few pellets each drop the next two put-ins also gave me carp, both around the two and a half pound mark. Bites weren't coming fast by any means, at around a seven or eight minute wait, but I was pleased to be off the mark!

Predictably, after that flurry bites faded away so I topped up with about twenty pellets and had a look on the 2+2 line. First drop in on a single cube of meat gave me a dumpy perch so I sat on corn for a few minutes, but with no joy. Going back across on corn gave no joy, just liners so I went back on pellet. Three fish in three drops (all about 3lb) followed the pattern of the last spell on this line to a tee; bite and fish, drop in and re-feed, wait a couple of minutes and repeat! It also went off again after the third fish! I topped up again with the bigger pot and tried both the other lines, but again no joy followed here.

Going back across and the next spell of the match followed the pattern again, where I'd catch two or three fish before they would back off. Topping up and waiting (on another line) they always came back. The fish all looked to be averaging 3lb, with an odd one a touch bigger and with just over two hours left I found myself on twelve carp. The most frustrating thing was not having a productive second line to dip in on while resting the far bank. I wasn't feeding a lot across so followed that on the other two lines; small amounts regular, but with nothing to lose I dumped a whole pot in the edge. After a wasted five minutes on the 2+2 line I dropped in the edge on double corn and soon found myself playing something a bit bigger. A common of about 7lb graced the net but (unsurprisingly, as I hooked it so close to myself) no more bites followed, so I gave the line half a pot and went back across.

Resting the far line had done the job and with fifteen carp in the net with ninety minutes to go I put another net in (fishery rules, max fifteen carp in a net) and found myself thinking about getting the lake 1 match record back! The far bank line was seeming to fade a bit and for the last spell of the match I found myself catching in ones or two's before it needed resting. I was at least managing to nab odd fish from the margins now, but only ever one before needing to rest that too. Meat seemed to get a quicker response here, and the fish were bigger there aswell, averaging 5lb. A steady run of rotating lines saw me finish the match on twenty four carp, missing a bite on the last drop in across and wasting the chance for twenty five fish (I did lose one fish, so I could have done it!)

I was guessing I'd have in the region of 80-85lb (with the match record being 84-10 I think) so I had a funny feeling that the lost fish would stop me breaking it. Despite my steady day I was surprised to find that the form pegs of the last few weeks had struggled, and 20-25lb weights seemed to be the norm. After weighing my two "plips" for 3oz I lifted my second carp net out and was surprised when the scales went to 47lb. With six more fish (albeit smaller) in the other net it I began to wonder what I might have. With definitely more weight in that net two weighs were done and with the first one going just over 30lb it looked like I'd not only do the record, but may also do the the first ton weight too. Looking at what I had left mind, it was going to be close. I wasn't going to look at the scales but couldn't help peeking, seeing a figure of 27lb something and meaning that I'd done it, not only breaking the record but also doing the first ton on the lake, and my first in a few years too! I can't remember the ounces but a total of 104lb something was WAY beyond what I thought I would ever have had off the peg!

Sunday 12th September

With two wins in a row under my belt on the new lake I was looking forward to this Sundays match, especially as we're entering the time of year I find the best for fishing- early Autumn, where the fish hopefully are feeding up for the winter which is creeping up upon us!

I fancied an early number, any of the pegs between 5 and 14 would have done me nicely (the pegs I won the last two matches on) but I have to admit I was very disappointed to draw peg 27. Not only have the 20's not been in decent form, but I can't remember the last time 27 was in the bag! Must have been a while, as I had to clear a lilly bed from the front of the swim that had grown right over it, plus two branches that were in the way!

By the time I had my box levelled on the peg everyone else I could see were plumbing up, so I was slightly hurried to set up from the start. The 2+2 line was ruled out as there were still straggly lilly stems to about 6m, so I had a long line where the bottom just started to slope up at 14.5m. Depth here was 6ft and float was a .4gr NG Decker on .17 to a .15 hook-link, an 18 Fox series 2 finishing the rig off. I also put a shallow rig up for this line, just in case but didn't imagine using it. I eventually found a gap in the nearside roots in 3ft of water where I would have my margin line. Usual gear here for the edge really, with .18 line direct to a 16 Fox 2 and Purple hydro. Float was a .2 gr DC5. Lastly I put up the tip rod for trying the method to the island (too wide for the pole at about 19m), although a few casts with the bomb just seemed to hang up in the water chucking tight, meaning that it would be dropping short to get the feeder to the bottom, not ideal I find.

On the whistle the long line got half a pot of hemp and corn, while the margin had a whole pot of the same, plus a little meat. I started on the long line and regularly toss-potted a few grains of hemp and corn over the top. After about half an hour I started to get indications, although they seemed from small fish. Just on the hour mark I had my first proper bite on a single grain of corn, giving me a common of about 3lb. No more bites followed so I picked up the catty and started pinging pellets over the top. Odd fish were cruising so I had occasional fruitless tries on the shallow rig.

On the two hour mark I had a few chucks on the feeder. It didn't seem right with it dropping just short so I tried chucking it closer to no avail as it seemed to hand up on roots every time (and once it hung up the island too!) To cut the rest of a long boring story short until the last hour I never had another bite, and by this time the angler to my right had packed up bite less. I hooked a fish on the long line on meat which came adrift halfway back. I then dropped in the margin and had a mirror about 5lb on double corn. I foul hooked a fish next chuck and that was that! The two anglers to my left also had two fish a piece, all caught in that last hour.

The first and second weights were next to each other (pegs 12 and 14) with 66lb winning and 50lb+ second. All in all a disappointing day from a peg that I'd run to from November to March, but have struggled from both times I've drawn it in warm weather.