Sunday 25th November

Well, what a rough night! It was quite calm when I went to bed, but at 4am the wind woke me sounding like a lorry driving through the wall! Thankfully, the weather was not as bad for us in Cambridge as many other parts of the country.

The wind seemed pretty much strait down the lake, so nowhere was going to escape it with the exception of peg 42, where it was pretty calm. My hand went in the bag and came out with 66, which is usually a decent year-round peg just on the end of the island. When I put my box down and sat for a minute I was quite pleased, as the lake kinks slightly back here, meaning the wind was for the most part rushing past me further across the lake.

I could comfortably plumb up to 10m (the occasional gust still affected me there, but for the most part it was okay), so I had a pole line here, and then one at 8m to my left (downwind) down the nearside slope using the same rig. Depth was about 5ft, and a .4gr NG Decker held stable here. This rig was finished off with a .14 hook-link and a size 16 B611, and matched to Preston 13h. Despite the wind, it was quite warm and I've found that carp do largely tend to feed in those conditions. To fish the island the 10ft Carbonactive Mini Carp came out, and my plan was to fish the bomb with either corn or bread in multiple grains/punches. I also soaked-up a few micro's to try a pellet cone if the fish needed some feed.

With very little to set up I was ready well before the off, and with the rain clouds long gone and the sun coming out it wasn't too bad. With the whistle I fed a few grains of hemp and corn at 10m, while the down wind line was fed more positively, with the idea that I'd not top it up and just see what happened. A grain of corn was hair-rigged and cast a meter or so short of the island where the depth was about 3ft, and I waited....

Two hours later I was still waiting! I'd topped the 10m line up with four grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp every half an hour, and I'd tried different multiples of corn and punched bread, exploring along the island and dropping down the shelf looking for signs. I hadn't seen one!

Odd carp had been caught - pegs 64, 48 and 44 I'd seen catch one each, so it was time to try the pole lines. With no sign on any of those I went back on the bomb. Cast dead in front of me and much tighter to the island in about 2ft of water I had a very slow deliberate liner. I left it, and it never developed. It was the only sign of a bite I had on the tip all day.

Out of desperation I got last weeks maggots out, and fishing them on the hook at 10m I winkled out a few roach to save the blank! I only really gave it twenty minutes or so before I switched back to corn, which got me a bonus 3oz roach as opposed to the twenty to the pound ones I was getting on maggot.

I never saw another sign of a carp in my swim all day, and was long packed up before the scales even started to weigh in! The two windward end pegs (pegs 53 and 62) were first and second on the day with a little over 24lb top, and just under 24lb second. There were a few low double figure weights and a few people like me that were carp-less and didn't weigh.

Next week is the fishery Fur and Feather, and typically the weather is looking on turning very cold by the end of next week. Hopefully we can just avoid a freeze-over (my ice breaker is ready mind), but beyond that I don't think we're going to get away with it. I know the weather forecasters often get it wrong, but it seems that when predicting an Arctic blast they don't!

Sunday November 18th

After a few weeks on the old lake I was looking forward to going back on to the new lake. The only downside looked to be be the weather again, as per last week the relatively mild weather during the week lead to clear sky's Saturday night and quite a sharp frost on Sunday morning.

I fancied a higher number draw, so when number 2 came out in my hand I feared the worse! Basically, my peg for the day was a twenty meter square right off the main lake by the car park (the tip of the bay is visible in the pic), although I did have an island chuck with the bomb (only as peg 3 wasn't in - it would be a a bit close otherwise). There's always fish in that area of the lake in the evenings as they often get fed there after matches and during the week, but with it being the first match in a month on the lake, with the cold and everyone having to walk past my peg optimism was low!

I set up a rig for the margin to my right in case any fish came back in to the bay, one for 13m towards the open water plus my bomb rod with a variety of hook-links to try different baits.

To cut a long and very boring story short, I had one carp about 4lb and five little perch. The carp came to the bomb and bread, dropped fairly short of the island about two hours in to the match. I didn't actually see the tip go round either, as somebody walked up the bank behind me, and when they asked how I'd got on I replied looking round to them (something along the lines of a four lettered word, followed by sayin I was bite-less) and when I looked back the tip was round a foot! I never had another liner or twitch on the tip, and the perch fell to maggot fished in the edge.

Peg 5 won with 48lb of carp on punch, so the fish that normally inhabit my little bay looked to have headed that way! Just 12lb was second from peg 7, and peg 11 was third with 11lb. A few other people had just the one carp like me, and some had none. It's fair to say it wasn't the day I was looking forward too as the winter "aqua bingo" begins!

Sunday November 11th

I have to admit the weather had me a little worried about the fishing on the morning, as what seemed just a chilly morning in my back garden turned in to a progressively harder frost the nearer to the venue we got! The day was supposed to be pleasant enough, but after three or four mild days and nights I did wonder what effect it would have.

Walking around before the start I could see that the colour had dropped out a touch from last week, but I was a little unsure of where I wanted to draw, although with the pegs around the back of the island being missed out I skill fully managed to avoid any of the four end-pegs the gap created! I was happy enough with peg 44, as at least with the remains of the large lilly bed in the peg I had some cover to fish to.

I put up three rigs for the day, although in the end I never picked up the shallow rig that I put up. What I expected to be my main catching rig would cover me for two areas of the swim - for 6m near to the lilly's, and for 13m at the bottom of the slope up to the small island. That slope is very un-even, else I would have fished up it slightly to cover more depths. This rig was a 4x14 Preston Chianti (with the cane tip replaced by a plastic one), with a .14 hook-link to a size 16 B611, and matched to Preston 13h elastic. Depth on both areas was the same to within a inch, at around 5ft. The last rig was for 6m to my left in the edge. The float was a 4x12 Chianti, again with plastic tip, while the terminal gear was the same too. Depth here was about 3ft.

On the whistle the margin and the 6m line both had a pinch of hemp and corn, while the longer line would be built up from drip-fed corn and and odd grain of hemp. Form peg 42 to my left was in to fish instantly, and had three before I had my first bite about half an hour in. I'd had odd liners, and the fish (a small common about 2lb) was hooked in the pectoral fin.

After that fish the liners faded away in my swim, and while peg 42 to my left was catching, so was everybody on the opposite bank that I could see. They were all basking in pleasant sunshine, while mocking those of us on the other bank who were all still sat with coats on!

After an hour I had my first look near the lilly's but had no joy. I tried the margin and had an odd knock but they seemed from small fish. I tried maggot out long which bought me a 1oz roach strait away, so carried on plugging away on corn. The two pegs to my right were fairing no better than me, so I elected to just plug away and hope some fish would turn up. Meanwhile, I had to get up and get my neck gaiter as I was feeling a bit chilled. Peg 70 opposite was sitting in a t-shirt!

With a little over two hours to go I was nine carp behind peg 42 to my left, while end peg 72 on the opposite bank wasn't catching fast, but their fish were much bigger. I dropped in near the lilly's and had my first bite there, and a small ghostie gave a lively account of it's self. Topping up with just two grains of corn carp number three fell soon after, again only around 2.5lb. That fish however decided to run in to the lilly's instead of away, and caused a bit of a disturbance that led to no bite on the next drop.

Back out long and two fish fell in quick succession, and they were about 3lb a piece. Again though, after two fish the swim went off. I topped it up with a small pinch of bait and tried in the edge. I did miss a bite here on corn, but nothing followed after.

With an hour to go I dropped back in near the lilly's, and was away instantly! This time the swim kept going and for the last hour I had a steady run of bites on corn. The fish weren't big, but from five fish with an hour to go I finished on fourteen carp. I was topping up with just two grains of corn each time, and never missed a bite until the very last minute! I'd over taken peg 42 in terms of numbers of fish too, as their peg had faded in the last ninety minutes, although I suspected peg 72 opposite would have more weight. They had less fish, but much bigger!

At the weigh in peg 42 put 36lb odd on to the scales - it was going to be close! My fish totalled up to 37-8 and gave me the lead for a little while, until the first end peg on the other bank (peg 62) put 39-1 on the scales! If only I hadn't missed that last bite! The were a few 20lb weights on that bank until we got to peg 72 on the end who put a couple of ounces over 40lb on the scales - less than 3lb more than me! Doh!

While being so close but so far, I'm not sure there was a lot else I could have done really - I never lost a fish. It was just the usual story for that peg - plenty of fish, but smaller. Both pegs that beat me were end pegs on the much warmer bank so I suppose to make the frame (and over take peg 42 after being nine carp behind at one point) wasn't a bad, but I guess when you're only one fish away from winning it's easy to look at a missed bite last chuck and think "if only!"

I think next week is back on the new lake after a few matches in a on the old lake, so the fishing will be a bit different. With no matches having been on there for a month there's nothing to go on too. Hopefully, it fishes okay!

Sunday November 4th

Well, I have to say as the week pressed on the weather forecast for Sunday looked less and less promising! While there is always the hope they'd get it wrong (which we all know happens!), it delivered just as promised - the rain started at about the moment I first went out in to the back garden at 6.30am, and never really stopped until after I got home. Yes, that is a brolly in the picture, as even I didn't fancy a day in that cold rain!

Last week the pegs to draw on the old lake had been around the island, and when peg 66 stuck to my hand I was pretty pleased. It's a decent year round peg to be honest anyway. I did notice however that the water there was clearer than last week, plus the wind was a different direction pushing what leaves there was up to the car park end of the lake. Was it going to be a case of should have been here last week?

I decided on three areas to target in the swim - across to the island, fishing at about 15m which dropped me down the slope a touch in to not quite 3ft of water. I also had a line at 5m, and then plumbed up with the same rig until I found the same depth on the slope up to the other side, which was nicely at 13m. Depth here was not quite 5ft. Simple rigs too - a 4x12 Preston Chianti on the island rig, and a 4x14 of the same on the deep rig! Both had the cane tip removed and a plastic one put in. Line was .15 to a .14 hook-link and size 16 B611's, while lakky was Preston 13h. I did put up a third rig in case the wind made the light Chianti impossible to present in the deep water, using a NG Decker, but the peg was pretty well sheltered - thankfully! In the end, I never picked up stand-by rig.

At the off the deep lines had a pinch of hemp and corn fed on to them - a bit more on to the throwaway 5m line which I expect to not be a viable target line for much longer as the cold comes in. I then went across on a 4mm expander pellet, with a small cad-pot on the pole which contained a little crumb and a few 3mm pellets. I was off the mark pretty quick but only with small 1oz roach which produced more missed bites than anything else. Odd carp were getting caught, including one on the peg to my left which won last week.

A grain of corn proved harder for the roach to nab, and the bites slowed for long enough that about twenty-five minutes in my first carp fell, a small common of about 2lb. In the next half an hour I managed to add three more of the same size to the net, all to corn - steady, if not spectacular! However, as tends to happen from lines on the far bank here it died after the initial run of fish. I do feel the rain may not have helped as it went from just wet to an icy monsoon!

I left the far line after perhaps twenty minutes without a bite, having a few drops over the 13m line to see if they'd dropped down the shelf. I had a liner here which led to me plugging away there a bit longer than I may have. A missed bite was followed by a small roach on corn, so I topped it up and went back across.

The rain had eased a touch now, but the indications I could get from across seemed to be from small fish. A switch back to pellet put a roach in the net, before a change back to corn saw me nab a small 12oz mirror before the swim went quiet again

With no more knocks across I had a drop in again at 13m, and again an occasional liner led me to plug away there, hoping the drip fed corn via the small pot would encourage them to feed. I couldn't see the pegs nearer the car park in the open water, but from what others were saying I knew they were catching, and quite well by the sounds of it!

On the half-way mark of the match I decided it was worth a drop on the 5m line, and it was a worth while effort as the float slipped away pretty quickly and gave me a common of about 3lb, but unsurprisingly no more followed. A drop on to the 13m line also gave me a quick fish, again about 3lb.

The quick burst of fish was followed by a lull, so I gambled on re-feeding both lines in the deeper water with the pot. A quick drop across just led to knocks from roach again so I didn't give it too long before coming back in to the deeper water at 13m with perhaps ninety minutes to go.

Two missed bites led me to fiddle with the shotting, moving it all down in to a tighter bulk to make it more positive. I knew two pegs were catching well, but third place looked a wide open possibility. The change worked as three small carp all around 10oz fell - not quite what I wanted, but better than catching roach! With just under an hour left I gambled on feeding it again as the bites faded (rather than just drip feeding with a pole mounted pot).

Resting the 13m line I dropped in at 5m, and the throwaway line gave me a quick bonus in the form of a chunky common that perhaps nudged 5lb, but again no more followed. Back on the 13m line and I started to put a run of fish together - I wasn't bagging, but I was getting an odd bite and putting a steady run of carp in the net. I did lose exact count, but I finished the match with about eleven "proper" carp plus the pasties I'd had. With a few minutes to go bites were fading again so without the time to rest and re-feed I spent the last part at 5m looking for another bonus. I did get a liner, but no proper bite.

It was clear that pegs 42 and 70 would be first and second (42 is perhaps THE form peg at the moment, framing in the last four or five matches even when the island pegs have been good), but nobody else was admitting to more than seven or eight carp. The late flurry had indeed given me third place with 40-15, with peg 42 putting 75lb odd on the scales and peg 70 putting 69lb on. Not bad weights, or days fishing given the weather, but I do have the task of drying out nearly everything now during the week!