Well, the year is up again all ready, so it is time to take a look back at 2011! Unfortunately, it's been a short one in terms of angling for me as various things in life conspired to get in the way of my bankside time. At the moment, temporarily at least, I'm stuck in Milton Keynes and not really able to get out. I do hope that changes soon!
So, what happened this year then? Well, January started as 2010 finished, fishing through the ice and not catching anything! It was Sunday the 23rd when I caught my first fish for about two months. The first fish I hooked actually came off near the net and I have to admit I wasn't sure if I should cry or jump in after it! I only had three carp that day and finished just out of the frame. It did however get me back in the swing of things for the winter league.
The winter league started well for me, as not only did the draw bag be kind to me, but I was also the golden peg! Just a shame it was a new one for the league. On that day I switched between the reeds in the edge of the peg and fishing at 13m in to the open water and managed eleven carp and a brown goldfish to comfortably win the match with 32lb 10oz, about 20lb ahead of second place!
With the coming of February and it started well on the New Lake at Westside. It was the first match on there since the end of November the previous year when everything froze over. This first match boded well for me with the winter league the week after, winning with just shy of 33lb taken on punch shallow. The winter league the next week was a kick in the privates though as I struggled from an unfavourable peg and managed just one perch of 1oz. Fortunately, you can drop the worst result and this didn't cost me.
The week after that match saw me draw a peg I didn't want on the old lake, and had blanked off of two times not long before. I wasn't best happy with it, but fished it different to before largely ignoring the island in front and fishing the deepest water I could find. The result? I managed to pinch a few decent fish from the deep water coupled with a lump from the margin and a win from a peg nobody wants in the winter with 38lb. The winter league the week after saw me scrape in to second place on the day and good points, but the weather had warmed up enough that it was impossible to get through the roach on maggot and I ended fishing on corn. A decent end to the month.
With March coming in the weather just started to perk up a bit. The open before the fourth winter league saw me draw a consistent winter peg, and I managed a third place. The winter league saw me draw a peg I wanted and the day ended far better than I ever could have imagined! Twenty carp and a skimmer on bread punch shallow saw me walk the match by a country mile with a total of 96lb 1oz, a fair bit ahead of the second placed 18lb. If I hadn't had to go get another net I may have managed the ton! Oh well!
The week after that, again on the open the week before the winter league, saw me celebrate my 30th birthday with a win, again by fishing corn in the open water. The fifth winter league match saw me draw a peg which I quite like but it had been a struggle for those that had drawn it previous. I managed to eek a few fish out catching both deep and shallow on the long line, plus a couple of small fish at 5m and a bonus margin lump. I managed to scrape third on the day and the winter league seemed to be shaping up nicely!
Going into April and it was the last round of the league. I'd worked out that a top four finish would be enough to clinch the title, and I managed to go one better on the day and bought home the trophy. I didn't have much time to bask in the glory mind as it was away early the next morning to Belfast to get married the weekend after!
My first match back was a disaster while the last match of the month saw me finish in second place but just 3lb 6oz off first. I was left to rue having to make rigs on the bank which saw me starting the match late, but I'd had an enjoyable days fishing and the fish seemed to be starting to munch in the warm summer like weather.
May bought the annual bank-holiday pairs match. This day saw me struggle for fifth on the day with the wind a complete pain, but my partner saved the day with a third on his lake which got us third placed pair and a pick up!
The next two matches proved to be a bit of a struggle, and nothing to write home about with very little caught. The two weekends after proved more eventful after slow starts - firstly with a win on the Old Lake with 52lb odd of carp taken mostly late on in the margins, and then on the New Lake with 29lb which was taken mostly in the last half an hour on worm. It does help when you pan a 12lb'er with about a minute to go!
June started a week late for me, and was probably the wettest day I've ever sat out in in the summer. Despite the weather (and a slow start!) I managed another win with 50lb 10oz caught mainly on pellet fished long feeding with a catty. In fact, June was a good month for me as I fished three matches and won all three, the first time anyone has won three opens in a row on the fishery since it opened about twelve years ago! What was most satisfying was that they were won fishing differently, with pellet, corn and worm all being the winning baits.
July didn't start so well, with me tipping back after a day struggling. I however got back to form with another three match winning streak, and managed to take the golden peg in the process! Again I didn't catch all on one method, with a win on the hottest day of the year on corn at 5m on the deck, and a predominantly margin approach with corn took the golden peg. Over on the New Lake it was again worm that done the damage. The weights were good too, with 63lb, 68lb and 70lb nets. The month then finished off as it started with me having a right struggle - one foul-hooked fish was all I managed.
August started off in true bagging style with me winning off the Old Lake with 114lb 10z, taken from the 5m line and the margin. I ran out of net space with a few minutes left else I may have managed the lake record but I wasn't complaining as it was my first ton off the lake! The next week on the New Lake wasn't such a bagging spree and I scraped out a level 24lb for second. The next two matches saw a spell of deja-vu with me drawing the same peg twice. Nobody likes peg 64 on the Old Lake and but I managed two results that pleased me massively with a third with 61lb 2oz taken from the margin, and then the next week I totalled 83lb finishing narrowly second taken from the 5m line. I did perhaps spend too much time chasing spooky margin fish but it was still a top result off the peg. The only downer was the first time I drew the peg I got mauled by ants - I was bitten more than forty times up my legs, not nice!
September started in a winning style with me weighing just over 74lb taken rotating the margin and the 5m line on a rather wet day. The next week wasn't such a good result but was probably as good an effort as I'd put in. On an unfavoured peg round the back of the island that's not often used (and I'd never caught a carp off) I managed a predominantly last hour 35lb weight taken off the 5m line on corn. I just scraped in to third with that, but I was in a row of five pegs were just two or three other carp were caught! It was a good example of keeping going and having confidence in yourself.You can't always win but to frame when the pegs either side had one carp between then aint a bad result.
The last two matches of the month were on the New Lake, the first one was a bit of a struggle off a peg that was again not very often in. I was just pipped for third place, but I perhaps didn't get the peg quite right and I should have managed a frame place. The last match was a win from a peg I didn't want, but I scraped out 29lb 4oz for a win. They say you're only as good as your last match, and that was my last match as since then life has managed to get in the way.
Looking back at it, it has been a good year for results. A win in the winter league, a golden peg and in to double figures of wins for a nine month season seems pretty good to me.
While the year started very slow I seemed to get in to the flow of things well. I didn't have just one or two ways of fishing which pleases me - catching on a variety of baits tactics on the pole with corn, meat, pellet, worm, caster and breadpunch all being used. Perhaps the most pleasing thing for me is getting the hang of catching better from open water. It always seemed to be something I struggled to get right but I just seemed to get the hang of it this year and didn't feel the need to either try and force the fish shallow (a method I like fishing) or chucking the feeder.
Getting that right I think helped me turn a few pegs that I perhaps would have finished second or third off in the past in to winners this year. Just as pleasing is some good results of not so good pegs, helped I think in large parts by becoming very confident in how I was fishing. Okay, I still had one or two bad days but by and large it was a good year. It's just a shame my fishing had to stop at a time when I was enjoying it so much.
I'd like to be able to tell you what it was that clicked but it's just seemed that I was in tune with the venue. Once the weather warmed up to the point you could influence the fish with feeding I just seemed to have the knack of knowing when to force the pegs or make a change, meaning that I seldom came away from a peg thinking it was worth a lot more weight. I honestly can't pick one day that I think was the best - 96lb on a damp drizzly March day stands out, but so does my first ton off the Old Lake. Equally, I've had some good results off poor pegs which I equally enjoyed.
As soon as I'm back on the bank I'll update the blog, even if it's just a days pleasure fishing. I'd still like to get a few guest blogs up, so if you fancy writing about your days fishing (good or bad, regardless of the venue) drop me a line via the comments option. The same goes if you're in the Milton Keynes area, be nice to get a few pointers on where to fish.
Lastly, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks for reading my ramblings - after all, if nobody reads it it's not worth writing!
