Well, I know I promised you a blog after Sunday, but in all honesty there's nowt to write about! A very sharp frost Saturday night seemed to upset most fishery's from what I've heard. I drew one of the two peg's I didn't want and didn't really catch a lot. Five small roach and a small skimmer to be exact. I could have caught small fish but it's hard to get your head down for them when only a couple of pegs up someone is bagging, and on the golden peg too!
So a disappointing year in angling finished in a disappointing way - my worst year results wise for a good few years. The brightest point would have to be away from match fishing too with my pb river carp which I nabbed early one morning before work in September. I'd really like a river 20lb'er next year, but it seems I've been saying that for a long while too. Hopefully 2014 is a much better year for angling for me all round!
Hopefully you all had a good Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you all. I hope it's a fish filled one!
Gavin
Tuesday 31 December 2013
Monday 23 December 2013
Sunday December 22nd
Well, it's certainly a bit blowy of late! Apologies for the lack of pictures - in the rush of getting things sorted for Christmas I forgot to give the batteries in my camera a proper charge. And before anyone suggests I could have used my phone, my "smartphone" is apparently smarter than my ageing laptop and the two really don't seem to get on very well together!
Anyhow, along with the wind yesterday morning it also decided to rain as I was leaving the house too, although thankfully it stopped before the draw. I'd not walked round but could see the wind was blowing down the lake and slightly off the back of the lower number pegs on the right side of the lake as you look at it from the car park. It was about right then that I found myself right at the windward end on the left-hand bank - peg 62 was to be my home for the day.
People who know the venue will know it's a corner peg on an island, and you can just fish to the up the side of the point without leaving your own peg. Fishing across was going to be fun with the wind, but on the times it abated a little I had a small area of calmer water where the point of the island protected it a little. I had two rigs up for here - a .3gr Nick Gilbert Power Finesse for fishing on the deck in just over 3ft of water on the slope, and a 4x10 Preston PB2 for fishing punch shallow. The deeper rig also doubled for my margin rig at about 12m to my left near some straggly reeds. Last up was a .4g Power Finesse set to fish in about 5ft of water at 12m angled to my left (downwind). all the rigs had .125 Garboline hook-links, with the two deeper rigs fished finished with a size 18 Drennan Wide Gape Match hook. The shallow rig had a size 16 B611 on as it was only going to be used with punch. All the rigs were matched to Preston 11h elastic. I also put up my 10ft CarbonActive Mini Carp with a small strait lead, just in case the wind increased any more!
I only fed the deepest swim from the off - giving it just three grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp. I plugged away with either the shallow punch rig or the slope rig when the wind allowed, or on the bomb otherwise for the first hour with nothing to show for it. With other people having caught odd carp that I could see I risked a bit of feed across, and give it just three grains of corn.
A fruitless try on the other two lines saw me back across but had only one tiny roach on a 9mm punch to show for my efforts. At times the wind was outrageous but I plugged away, occasionally using the bomb to get through the worst of it. On around the two hour mark, during a slight lull in the wind I lowered my punch rig down and the float simply went with it. I was quite surprised to see that my lift saw several feet of red lakky come out! The wind chose that time to start blowing again, and I was thankful for the nice forgiving elastic as the wind buffeted the pole around as I gingerly shipped back. A nice looking common of about 4lb was my reward.
With one carp in the net my efforts didn't seem so much in vain, and about forty minutes later - again when the wind allowed me to fish the pole - I had two carp in as many drops. I was like bagging-up, for those two drops! Both were again about 4lb each. For a while after the wind didn't allow my to try across on the pole, while the tip remained steadfastly motionless.
The last hour loomed and the temperature started to cool a bit. Any signs of life across had gone now and I plugged away mostly in the deep water. My faith in a line that had not given me a bite was rewarded with about twenty minutes to go when the float dipped with a grain of corn on the hook. After a few minutes a carp that looked nearer 6lb than 5 was in the net, but sadly I didn't get any more.
My four carp in the end weighed in at just under 18lb and was good enough for third place - 28lb won and 25lb was second. Both those weights were taken from the end pegs on either bank nearest to the car park - and off the wind for pretty much all but the worst gusts! It was hard work, but at least I had some reward for it. It's just a shame that the worst of the wind eased away while packing up - when the scales came round there was barely a ripple, as usually seems to happen!
Right, must be off - things to sort out before Christmas, but all being well I'll be back out next Sunday and will have a blog for you the following Monday or Tuesday. Have a good Christmas all who read this, and may Santa bring you lots of nice fishing related goodies! If not, do as I most likely will and go buy your own!
Anyhow, along with the wind yesterday morning it also decided to rain as I was leaving the house too, although thankfully it stopped before the draw. I'd not walked round but could see the wind was blowing down the lake and slightly off the back of the lower number pegs on the right side of the lake as you look at it from the car park. It was about right then that I found myself right at the windward end on the left-hand bank - peg 62 was to be my home for the day.
People who know the venue will know it's a corner peg on an island, and you can just fish to the up the side of the point without leaving your own peg. Fishing across was going to be fun with the wind, but on the times it abated a little I had a small area of calmer water where the point of the island protected it a little. I had two rigs up for here - a .3gr Nick Gilbert Power Finesse for fishing on the deck in just over 3ft of water on the slope, and a 4x10 Preston PB2 for fishing punch shallow. The deeper rig also doubled for my margin rig at about 12m to my left near some straggly reeds. Last up was a .4g Power Finesse set to fish in about 5ft of water at 12m angled to my left (downwind). all the rigs had .125 Garboline hook-links, with the two deeper rigs fished finished with a size 18 Drennan Wide Gape Match hook. The shallow rig had a size 16 B611 on as it was only going to be used with punch. All the rigs were matched to Preston 11h elastic. I also put up my 10ft CarbonActive Mini Carp with a small strait lead, just in case the wind increased any more!
I only fed the deepest swim from the off - giving it just three grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp. I plugged away with either the shallow punch rig or the slope rig when the wind allowed, or on the bomb otherwise for the first hour with nothing to show for it. With other people having caught odd carp that I could see I risked a bit of feed across, and give it just three grains of corn.
A fruitless try on the other two lines saw me back across but had only one tiny roach on a 9mm punch to show for my efforts. At times the wind was outrageous but I plugged away, occasionally using the bomb to get through the worst of it. On around the two hour mark, during a slight lull in the wind I lowered my punch rig down and the float simply went with it. I was quite surprised to see that my lift saw several feet of red lakky come out! The wind chose that time to start blowing again, and I was thankful for the nice forgiving elastic as the wind buffeted the pole around as I gingerly shipped back. A nice looking common of about 4lb was my reward.
With one carp in the net my efforts didn't seem so much in vain, and about forty minutes later - again when the wind allowed me to fish the pole - I had two carp in as many drops. I was like bagging-up, for those two drops! Both were again about 4lb each. For a while after the wind didn't allow my to try across on the pole, while the tip remained steadfastly motionless.
The last hour loomed and the temperature started to cool a bit. Any signs of life across had gone now and I plugged away mostly in the deep water. My faith in a line that had not given me a bite was rewarded with about twenty minutes to go when the float dipped with a grain of corn on the hook. After a few minutes a carp that looked nearer 6lb than 5 was in the net, but sadly I didn't get any more.
My four carp in the end weighed in at just under 18lb and was good enough for third place - 28lb won and 25lb was second. Both those weights were taken from the end pegs on either bank nearest to the car park - and off the wind for pretty much all but the worst gusts! It was hard work, but at least I had some reward for it. It's just a shame that the worst of the wind eased away while packing up - when the scales came round there was barely a ripple, as usually seems to happen!
Right, must be off - things to sort out before Christmas, but all being well I'll be back out next Sunday and will have a blog for you the following Monday or Tuesday. Have a good Christmas all who read this, and may Santa bring you lots of nice fishing related goodies! If not, do as I most likely will and go buy your own!
Wednesday 4 December 2013
Autumn/Winter Update
Well, I keep meaning to sit and do a proper write-up but I just can't seem to find the time!
I've had an odd decent days fishing but it has been largely hit and miss - I think with one win and a second place since my last update, but also some real slow days. This weekend gone was the Fur and Feather and regular readers will know that they haven't been the kindest of matches to me since I started this blog back in 2008.
This year the weather looked to be better as at least the lakes didn't have a lid on them. I have to admit though, when I drew peg 53 - the same peg I drew and blanked off last year in the Christmas match - I was a little despondent!
My mood improved a little when I sat down on my box - despite the tighter pegging with the higher attendance. There were a few leaves drifting about in the corner, and one thing that everyone knows about the venue is that the carp love leaves! Not that there were any of those showing.
I had a few rigs up - one for the deepest water I could find, at 11m angled to my right, a margin rig for 8m to my right about 3ft deep that also doubled up for fishing just on the slope up to the island. I also had a 2ft deep dibber rig and a roach rig for 6m.
I fed the margin and the deep line with just six grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp and started flicking a few casters to the roach line, before starting to explore along the far bank with the slope rig and corn, looking for any signs.
After twenty minutes it looked as though no carp were present, so I decided to have one drop on the 2ft punch rig before I had a go for the roach. I was somewhat shocked when the float burried after about a min but I missed it! Next drop it went again and the lift saw my 13h lakky streaming out! A decent carp of around 4lb was the culpret.
The next two hours saw odd bites out of the blue in different places along the far bank, and at the halfway mark I had five carp and had lost one which had picked up a stick in a raft of leaves and the hook pulled near the net.
The last part never saw me hook any other carp, but I plugged away getting odd roach on punch but largely missing the bites.
At the end my carp went 19-3, and was third on the lake with 21lb second and 22 winning - both weights taken from the deepest area of the lake in the open water. Not losing that carp, or having the last spell after roach almost without doubt would have won me the lake (I never picked up my roach rig), but never mind! I skillfully in not winning managed to avoid the lake winners bottle of Champagne (which I don't drink!) and managed a choice from the table instead. The bottle of Jack Daniels winter punch is much more to my taste, although a case of beer was tempting!
In all honesty, I was pretty happy to have broke my duck of poor Fur and Feather matches and have caught some fish! The other lake was just as close, with 33lb and 32lb being top weights and giving the overall winner.
I hope to give you a couple of proper blogs soon as I have time off over Christmas, but if I don't write before then have a great Christmas all, and a Happy New Year!
I've had an odd decent days fishing but it has been largely hit and miss - I think with one win and a second place since my last update, but also some real slow days. This weekend gone was the Fur and Feather and regular readers will know that they haven't been the kindest of matches to me since I started this blog back in 2008.
This year the weather looked to be better as at least the lakes didn't have a lid on them. I have to admit though, when I drew peg 53 - the same peg I drew and blanked off last year in the Christmas match - I was a little despondent!
My mood improved a little when I sat down on my box - despite the tighter pegging with the higher attendance. There were a few leaves drifting about in the corner, and one thing that everyone knows about the venue is that the carp love leaves! Not that there were any of those showing.
I had a few rigs up - one for the deepest water I could find, at 11m angled to my right, a margin rig for 8m to my right about 3ft deep that also doubled up for fishing just on the slope up to the island. I also had a 2ft deep dibber rig and a roach rig for 6m.
I fed the margin and the deep line with just six grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp and started flicking a few casters to the roach line, before starting to explore along the far bank with the slope rig and corn, looking for any signs.
After twenty minutes it looked as though no carp were present, so I decided to have one drop on the 2ft punch rig before I had a go for the roach. I was somewhat shocked when the float burried after about a min but I missed it! Next drop it went again and the lift saw my 13h lakky streaming out! A decent carp of around 4lb was the culpret.
The next two hours saw odd bites out of the blue in different places along the far bank, and at the halfway mark I had five carp and had lost one which had picked up a stick in a raft of leaves and the hook pulled near the net.
The last part never saw me hook any other carp, but I plugged away getting odd roach on punch but largely missing the bites.
At the end my carp went 19-3, and was third on the lake with 21lb second and 22 winning - both weights taken from the deepest area of the lake in the open water. Not losing that carp, or having the last spell after roach almost without doubt would have won me the lake (I never picked up my roach rig), but never mind! I skillfully in not winning managed to avoid the lake winners bottle of Champagne (which I don't drink!) and managed a choice from the table instead. The bottle of Jack Daniels winter punch is much more to my taste, although a case of beer was tempting!
In all honesty, I was pretty happy to have broke my duck of poor Fur and Feather matches and have caught some fish! The other lake was just as close, with 33lb and 32lb being top weights and giving the overall winner.
I hope to give you a couple of proper blogs soon as I have time off over Christmas, but if I don't write before then have a great Christmas all, and a Happy New Year!
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