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!


No comments: