Sunday 15th November

Well, thankfully the winds had dropped for Sunday but on the minus side it had rained over night, a lot! something which normally effects the fishing negatively at Westside. I took my normal place late in the draw queue and was happy when peg 29 came out in my hand. It's got good recent form too with a first and a second in the last two matches.

With low weights winning the last two matches I decided on quite light rigs. I had two rigs for the pole across. First was a 4x10 Preston chianti, adapted to take a plastic tip. This was set to fish in just over three feet of water about two foot away from the island, on the front of the slight bay about 16.5m away. The second rig was a 4x10 Preston PB2. This rig was to fish about a foot off the bottom and would later be used to poke right in to the bay later in the match where it was just under three feet deep. Both these rigs were on .125 line to a 16 B611 and on a soft Preston 13h elastic. A third rig was for just down the near ledge to my left. I had a good five feet of water only feet from the bank so I fished at 5m to my left just off the remains of some lillies. This rig had a 4x14 chianti, again with a plastic tip. Line was .14 and hook was a 16 B611 and the lakky was a 12 latex. I did toy with putting up a bomb rod but decided not to as there was no wind and I could comfortably hold the 17m of pole I'd need to go right in the bay.

Plan for the day was to drip feed into just one area of the far bank, and other areas I'd plumbed (the other corner of the bay as well as right in it) would be fed later if need be but not before I'd tried them without bait. On the whistle I fed just six casters across while the 5m line had a small pinch hemp and three grains of corn. I decided to try corn across first and missed a sharp bite on it after only a couple of minutes, followed by two more in the next five minutes. I wasn't sure if they weren't bites from silvers so I slipped a caster on and a similar bite produced a 3oz roach, followed by a dumpy 2oz perch. The bites went a bit iffy after this and on the half hour mark I had a liner so I decided to try the shallow rig. First drop gave a bite from a tiny roach, but the second go the float settled and then slipped away and the lift was followed by a good amount of lakky. After a sluggish start a decent fight gave me a common of about 5lb was in the net, hooked just outside the mouth - a sure sign that the fish weren't feeding properly and what I perhaps expected after so much over night rain.

After that carp I decided to try for another without feeding. The exact pattern of the last drop happened again, the float slipped away just after settling but this time the lift was met with the elastic screaming off into the next peg and what I suspect was a foul hooker broke me. Unsurprisingly no more bites followed so I topped up with a few casters and decided to try the short line. I did have a liner after a few minutes on corn but nothing came of it, while trying a caster gave me just a tiny perch. After a good ten minutes I went back across on the shallow rig and caster and had a run of bites from roach, mostly 2oz fish but with one chunkier fish about 4oz but they quickly dried off. After a bite less few minutes I decided to go back on the deck on corn, missing a bite after a few minutes but connecting with the second. A very lively fight eventually resulted in a cracking looking fully scaled mirror, but it was hooked in the pectoral fin!

No more bites followed in the next few minutes, and by this time the sun had come round and was a complete nightmare. I was squinting trying to see my float, even with Polaroids, a peaked cap and one hand in front of me! At the halfway point of the match I tried the 5m line again, partly prompted by the sun and partly by the angler on the next peg (to my left) landing their second fish in a short spell from that line. No bites came so I went back across. Nothing on the deck led me to try up in the water again which gave just a tiny roach so I decided to try further along right into the bay. Not long after dropping into the bay I foul hooked and lost a fish as I was lifting the rig but it came off very shortly after. I went strait back to the same spot and an instant bite gave me a ghostie common, bigger than the first two fish at about 5lb, and a complete nightmare to play with the sun in my eyes.

The next few minutes gave no more bites so I dripped a few more casters in and shortly after I had another fish on. Again with the sun in my eyes I couldn't see what it was doing or where it was going and it came off half way back. I'm sure it wasn't foul hooked and was cursing as lost fish were most definitely not the way to keep the swim going, and predictably the bites dried up, both over the feed and in the bay. I tried the other side to the bay and this gave a small roach to caster but nothing else so I had a quick, but fruitless try on the 5m line. I have to say I was surprised there were no silver fish as I'd regularly been flicking a few casters by hand on it in an attempt to bring it to life.

With the whole swim seeming to be dead I decided to try dripping in a little bait regularly via a toss-pot, just 4-5 casters and an odd maggot in an attempt to liven things up. Not that long after trying it I hooked another carp, although it wasn't over the bait, I'd decided to have a quick drop in half way between where I was feeding and the back of the bay where the last fish had come from. This carp was much smaller than the others at around 2lb but hopefully I could pick a few of them up. Also, thankfully, the sun had dropped enough behind the far bank trees not to be a problem. Unfortunately any thoughts of lining a few up were gone as with an hour to go I foul hooked another fish and it tore off to my right before coming off.

The last hour produced very little. Coming shallower produced some very dithery bites on caster which when the did develop were just tiny perch. Maggot got instant bites, both shallow and on the deck but from the same tiny perch. Corn produced nothing, not even a liner and the other areas of the swim were equally lifeless. The only thing of note was a chunky 4oz perch on caster on the deck, plus the angler to my right having four carp in the last hour on the bomb!

I have to say at the whistle I was ruing not setting the bomb up as I was sure the angler to my right would beat me. I carry the bomb rod made up so it was as simple as put it together and put a hook length on! Even if I hadn't fished it all day it would have been worth a try, especially when the fish were very spooky, plus not to mention when I had the sun in my eyes. Very little else had been caught and when the scales got the the next peg 12lb was comfortably first. When they put their 4 carp on the scales they went 17lb 8oz and I really thought he'd pip me. My bits were first on the scales and went 1lb 11oz. Pulling my carp out I was thinking they'd go 15lb at most, so was surprised when the scales went to 16lb 11oz, giving me 18lb 6oz in total and a very narrow win.

I have to admit I felt a bit lucky to have won as I didn't feel I'd fished well, losing as much as I'd landed (albeit foul hooked) meant that I was never able to get the fish going. Plus I do think the bomb in the quiet spells, certainly perhaps in the last hour, could have been worth an extra fish or two. I still really don't know why I never put it up as I certainly had the time. That bomb rod will be out every week now!

Sunday 8th November

Well, after waking up my mate at 8.30am ringing him to ask him where he was I was beginning to think it may be one of those days! After some phone calls to get a message to the organiser that we would be there late I was a bit happier. Arriving at 9.30 I found that peg 44 had been drawn for me. I had mixed feelings about it, I won off it last time I drew it, but that was in the margins in the summer! It's a hit and miss winter peg - I had it a year ago (to the weekend I think!) and struggled for about 10lb off it, and have blanked off it in the cold too!

I hastily put up a rig for fishing on the slope up to the little island, with .14 line to Preston 13h lakky and a 16 B611 Float was a 4x12 Preston somo with a plastic tip in just over 3ft of water. Next rig up was at 6m for the remains of the lillies, this was on .16 line to a 12 latex in about 5ft of water. As I was sorting a margin rig the organiser came up behind me and kindly offered to start the match late and finish it a little later (how many would do that?) but I declined. It's not everyone else's fault! On the whistle I few a few caster and three grains of corn across, a pinch of hemp and corn at 6m and a bit of hemp, corn and caster down the edge. I then finished shotting my margin rig ( I didn't make any lighter rigs up, and the colour had dropped out of the water ) before putting up a shallow rig to fish a foot of the bottom on the long line. Terminal gear for that was the same as the deck rig but with a 4x10 PB2 float.

When I finally put a bait on it was nudging 10.15, and as I was shipping out the peg opposite hooked a fish, and could hear that someone else had a fish on. I had the first few minutes on corn but with no sign of fish. By this time the next peg along (in the deep water where I was a fortnight ago) had two fish quick. I went on to alternating caster and maggot on the hook, dripping 4-5 casters in every few minutes via a toss-pot. After a short while I had a dithery bite on single caster that I missed, followed shortly by another that I hit. A roach of about 1oz may not have been the target fish but at least I was off the mark!

On the hour mark (45 min for me!) I picked the catty up and started to flick casters out 3-4 at a time the 13.5m or so I was fishing. I decided to do this hoping that the extra noise of the loose feed being 'pulted would attract the fish, plus it makes you more inclined to feed a little more often - nobody wants to ship in and out every 4-5 mins without a fish on! Dead on an hour after I started a proper 'dig' on caster saw me attached to a carp. After a short but very spirited fight a common of about a pound and three quarters found it's way to the net. The next hour passed without much excitement, I had odd small roach on maggot or caster long, and trying the 6m line gave me two liners in quick succession but they nothing else. I wanted to leave the margins as long as possible with the colder clearer water so I hadn't tried it yet.

With two hours gone odd fish had started to show themselves, including one right lump that jumped three or four times in the peg to my left. Not time to panic as this swim is normally a slow starter. I took the topping fish as a cue to try the shallower rig. The first bite I missed (on caster) while the second gave me another tiny roach. Third drop in, only five or so minutes after trying it and the next bite see's something more substantial hooked. After a hairy few minutes, in which the fish tried to do a lap of the mini island in front of me, a ghostie common of about 5lb made it's way in to the net. I have to admit I thought I had it sussed, but the next half hour on it gave only one better roach of about 6oz plus some more tiny's. I had a fruitless try on both the other lines but even maggot and caster failed to bring a bite on them.

With two hours to go I went back out long on the shallow rig but was again only rewarded with small roach. With other anglers only having a few fish (five was the best I could see) I wasn't too far off the pace. I decided to try back on the deck long on corn as the the sun had gone in. I have to admit I was surprised to get a bite so quick, so surprised I missed it! No need to worry as not long after the float had settled than another bite saw me again attached to a decent fish. A few minutes later a common probably approaching 6lb was in the net and I was right back in the running! The next three drops all produced carp too, although smaller averaging 2-3lb. Each bite was followed by a few grains of hemp and an odd bit of corn. No feed meant no bite but I doubt I waited more than five minutes for a bite after topping up. The next bite gave a crucian of about a pound and a half before the swim faded away a little. I had a quick try on the shallow rig to see if the regular feeding had bought the fish up but with no joy I fed a pinch of hemp and corn with the big pot and left it alone.

The next ten minutes at 6m and in the margins was totally dead. Quite surprising as others were picking off odd fish of those lines. Back out long and three missed bites in a row lead to me having a think. With the wind settling right off I changed my shotting, changing from a spread bulk to totally stringing out the four number 10 stotz. This seemed to have the desired effect and I started to connect with some of the bites. By no means was I hitting every bite, not even as many as I was before but I was putting fish in the net regularly. By the end of the match I'd managed seven more carp, plus another smaller crucian. I did miss my last two bites though! I guessed that my 13 carp and bits would go about 40lb and wasn't far off the mark, being the second to weigh in and putting 44lb 13oz on the scales. With a few 20lb+ weights being the next best I managed a fairly comfortable win, much better than I thought I would do at the start of the day!

I was pretty happy with the way I fished, my previous experience of the peg led me not to panic not catching early as it's never a quick starter. Fishing the corn balanced on the slope up to the island did the trick, and even with the float dotted most bites never actually took the float under. Fishing the corn any other way I think I wouldn't have even seen many of the bites, and while I did miss a few bites every one I connected with ended up in the net, not one fish was lost. You can't ask much more than that! Hope next week is the same!

A Two Flask Day!

Firstly I apologise for the poor piccy, it was taken in a rush in a break in the rain and didn't realise it was quite as poor!

With the bad weather there was predictably a no-show or two, and the pegs were chosen with the bad weather (and leaves ) in mind. Off all the pegs in the bag once again the one peg I didn't want came out in my hand, peg 35 which anyone who had read my ramblings for long enough will remember me labelling it as the worst peg on the lake!

When I got to the peg there were no leaves but with the swirling wind I found it impossible to plumb up past 13m, so I simply put up two pole rigs - one for down the track and one for down the margin to my right, down wind and nice and comfortable! I was quite sure of catching in the edge, as despite the rain it has still been warm. I had a nice depth of three and a half foot down the edge under some marginal overhangs, while down the track there was about 6ft. Line on the margin rig was .16 while the track rig had .14. Lakkys were a 12 latex for the track and Preston 15h for the margins. Lastly I put up a strait lead rod to fish across.

On the whistle I fed half a pot of chop and caster down the edge and a small amount of hemp and corn down the track. The lead rod was then baited with a single grain of corn and flicked towards the island. I have to say that it didn't land quite where I wanted, being a bit short. After ten minutes I re-cast and was much happier with the distance it landed from the island, about a meter short. With the rod settled I picked up my flask and poured a coffee. No sooner had I picked the cup up than the rod yanked round and in the process of putting the cup down I somehow managed to spill the coffee down my boot and burning my foot! Some shot in the tipping rain! After a very bream like fight a small common of around a pound and a half found it's way to the net. A liner two chucks later about sums up the next hour so I dropped onto the track line.

With nothing to show on corn I slipped a caster on and it didn't take long for a response, albeit from a tiny perch. No more followed so I topped up the pole swims and went back on the lead but with no joy. With no signs of fish anywhere I decided to flick odd grains of corn across with a catty. I'd have preferred to feed casters but in the wind it was impossible. After two hours it was time to try down the edge. Half a dendra didn't take long to get a bite, but again it was a tiny perch! Caster didn't get a response so it was down the track again but on maggot. Again little perch were the only things to respond and for a few minutes I was happy to put a few in the net before trying caster. This bought a change in species with a roach but it was no bigger than the perch!

With nothing going it's back on the tip but despite trying all along the far bank (and the coffee trick multiple times!) nothing was showing. With about an hour and a half to go the rain started to break and down the edge with double caster bought a response from a perch of about 6oz. Next drop gave a proper 'carpy' liner then I missed a bite. With the margin line looking promising disaster struck! With the clearing of the rain came a change in the wind, and with that came the leaves! As you can see from the pic it made things rather awkward, and they were worse than that at times!

With just over an hour to go the leaves were so bad I got up and took my near empty flask with me and went for a walk, wishing I had made two flasks! I sat back on my box with three-quarters of an hour to go and two un-fishable pole swims, the only gaps being near the far bank. The change in the wind had made the swim a little more sheltered so I plumbed across quickly with my margin rig (no time for a new one!) I found an area with a reasonably flat bottom and about 3ft of depth (the colour had dropped out so I didn't want less) and tipped in the little choppy I had left in the box. I had to ship across holding the pole up with the rig out of the water. Two quick perch were the first to respond on caster before a spell of drifting leaves meant I couldn't fish where I wanted. When I dropped back in I missed a bite then hooked a much better fish and lost it as it plowed through the floating leaves! I'm sure it was foul hooked mind. With ten minutes left the next bite saw what looked to me like an F1, although none have been stocked so it must have been a naturally occurring hybrid! Still, at about 2lb it was welcome. I did miss another bite before the whistle but that was it.

I packed up a little peeved at the day, sitting out in bad conditions is one thing, but with them ruining any chance of having a decent day it wasn't good! I also came home with the feeling that I just didn't fish well too. When I could fish across on the pole I had bites, and with just 12lb 8oz winning, narrowly ahead of 12lb 7oz and third being 11lb it wouldn't have taken much to have made the frame. Still, you have to take the good days with the bad, here's hoping the next one is good!

Sunday 25th October

Well, I have to say it was definitely a bit warmer over night than last week! With the temperature being in double figures in my back garden early I was fairly optimistic of catching a few fish, it's just a shame I didn't get the benefit of an extra hours kip, as with the clocks going back I just woke up at six instead of seven am!

I was sure that the island pegs would still be the ones to draw, but I'm not one for being near the front of the draw queue and by the time I went in they were all gone! I wasn't happy with the number in my hand 47. It's a deep peg, but with no features. In the two times I've had it the only way I've really caught from it was in the margin against the bare bank to the left. There is no bank to the right to fish too and with the direction of the wind it was going to be awkward to fish that side. I had three rigs up for the pole, the first at 12m where I had not quite seven foot of water. This was a .4gr handmade float. It may seem light for the depth but the diamond body shape with a long heavy glass stem makes them very stable. I had a shallow rig up for the same line, this was a 4x12 Preston PB2, set about 3ft deep. Last pole rig was an adapted 4x12 Preston Somo in about two and a half feet of water. Line on all three was .16 with 16 B611's on the long rigs and a 14 on the margin rig. Elastics were a soft 14 latex for the deep rig, black hydro for the shallow and Preston 15h for the margins. I also put up a tip rod with a strait lead on it as the wind was a bit swirly.

At the whistle the long line was fed with a pinch of hemp and a few grains of corn, while the margin got the same plus a pinch of casters. I put a single grain of corn on the deck rig, set about an inch over depth and shipped the pole out. After about a minute the float buried and I was that surprised to get a bite that fast I was a little slow and missed it! Nothing followed in the next three or four minutes so I dripped a few grains of hemp and corn in and not long later I had a liner. Again nothing followed so I dripped a few grains in again as the last two knocks had came shortly after feeding. It didn't work though and no more bites were forthcoming. At this time two of the pegs opposite had started to catch in the edge, although they were sitting in the sun.

On the half hour mark I topped up the margin again and took the toss-pot off my long deck rig as the wind had got increasingly swirly and it was catching the pot. Odd fish were starting to top now but the wind had now all but ruled out using the shallow rig as it would be impossible to feed out long! On the hour mark the long pole had to be abandoned due to the wind, so I re-plumbed at 6m where it was slightly shallower. After this was fed two grains of corn went on the hair rig and out went the bomb. Two chucks later and no joy, yet I was watching the two opposite catching in their nice sheltered calm swims!

With near two hours gone and apart from the two opposite I'd seen nobody else catch, so I bit my lead rig off and put a small method feeder on. But this time some of the gusts of wind were nearly blowing the rod off the rest! Second chuck in and just as I decide to have my first coffee of the day the rod absolutely tanked round! The lack of resistance suggested that it wasn't a carp and soon a crucian about a pound found it's way in. A liner next chuck was followed by another crucian so I decided to top up both pole swims and have a bit longer on the tip.

By the halfway mark no more bites had came so I decided to drop in on the 6m line. The float can't have been in the swim much more than a minute when a nice positive bite saw me attached to my first carp of the day. It wasn't a big fish, at about 2lb but when I'd only seen the two opposite catch it was welcome. One of them had stopped catching now, having about 5-6 fish, while the other was bagging in the marginal reeds! I had a bite next chuck but missed it, and with the next few minutes bite less I decided to try the margins.

A single grain of corn on and I thought I had a knock as I was dragging the rig up the slope. Not sure if it was I put a few grains of hemp and corn in the toss-pot and went in again. After a short while a proper bite sees me land a torpedo common of about 3lb. Next drop, again on corn and a bite sees me prick a fish so I topped up and gave it a rest, trying both the 6m line and the method again, both with no joy. That's apart from a tiny roach on single dead red maggot on the method! With an hour and a half to go I go back in the edge. Again a quick response but I missed that bite, and the next! The third bite I decided to leave a bit longer and it worked as it pulled the elastic from the pole! A ghostie of about 4lb was followed by a common about the same size ten minutes later before the bites seemed to fade.

A quick try on both other lines gave just a liner on the 6m line. Back in the edge and a few liners but I couldn't get a proper bite. The wind was blowing the rig back towards me, plus the leaves it was blowing through was making good presentation very hard. With three quarters of an hour left I decided to try double caster and nudge the depth up a bit to try and hold the bait still for better presentation. It worked as two carp, both around 4lb followed in the next twenty minutes. Carp number seven came to double maggot with twenty or so minutes to go. Despite liners (and a bit of hoping / praying) I couldn't add another carp before the whistle.

I couldn't see that much caught apart from the peg opposite who'd bagged up, and the peg next to him who had about the same as me. When the scales got to me 26lb was top weight, close with what I thought I had but my fish went 28lb 11oz. No weights of more than mid doubles came until the peg opposite walked it with 84lb. Just the next peg then, and it looked close when he pulled his net out, but the scales settled on 27lb 4oz leaving me second.

It was a mixed day really, I was happy to frame off a peg I didn't fancy, but the weather and the leaves had definitely cost me a few fish. I think I perhaps should have tried the margins earlier, and definitely should have tried maggot or caster earlier when I couldn't always get the presentation I wanted on corn. Thankfully it didn't really cost me, I'd never had 80lb from the peg to win bit I perhaps should have had 40lb from the peg.

Next week sees us go in to November and what should be proper winter fishing, except the weather is forecast to be in the mid to high teens all week! I'm not really sure what to expect from Lake one next week, but I'll let you know!

Sunday 18th October

Well, the morning had a distinct chill to it! winter's definitely on it's way! That said, despite the cold start the carp in my pond were still feeding well so I hoped the carp in Westside would still be a little hungry...

I have to say I wasn't overly happy with my draw when peg 16 came out, it's only real form is as a margin peg, something I didn't really fancy after a few cold nights. Essentially I was fishing to the same corner that I had from peg 14, so maybe the fish would move in later. The main reason I wasn't happy was that it's deep against the island just over 4ft, but with it being 20m away I had to fish it on the tip as I had no wagglers with me (but a float road and the reel for it!) and I suspected that the fish would be up in the water in that depth with the high air pressure.

I had three pole rigs set up, one for the margin near some lillies 11m to my right in 3ft of water. The other two were for fishing in the deep water near a big weed bed at about 1 o'clock 11m out. It was a line I wasn't sure would go with over 6ft of water there so i put up a half depth rig there too. Both on .16 line with a 14 latex for the deck rig and black hydro for the shallow rig. Lastly I had a tip rod up for fishing the method tight to the island. Bait for the day was worm and caster for the pole lines, with a bit of hemp and corn too. I had a few red maggots and also some groundbait knocked up for the tip too.

I wasn't ready when the whistle blew so I hastily fed the pole lines before starting on the tip. The first three chucks on hair rigged corn gave just liners so the 4th was on a dead red maggot due to the cold. After perhaps a minute the rod wrenched round and a fish was on.... for about one second! next chuck and the tip goes round again in the same fashion and this fish was on for about 10 seconds before it hit a snag near the island and came off. Not the best of starts! After these the liners stopped and the swim was dead as can be.

I gave the pole lines an hour to settle, flicking casters to the deep swim with a catty, while topping the margin up every 40 minutes with a small pot of worm and caster. A bite on double caster deep first drop but the joy was short lived as a perch of perhaps an ounce came in, then no more bites followed. The margin was a bite a chuck, but again from perch, and many of those wouldn't have even been an ounce.

Back on the tip and with the 2hr mark on the clock the rod drops back before steadily pulling tight. After a brief fight a small common of about a pound is in the net, followed next cast by a 6oz perch on the dead maggot. Not typical method fish and definitely not a good sign. The next hour was just small fish on worm from the margin. Frustratingly odd carp were cruising along the island, very tight and high up in the water. I was cursing not having any wagglers (why carry the float rod and no floats!) although I never once saw a fish move away from the island, they were right tight. Still, I'll never know!

With an hour and a half left two quick bites on the method gave two small carp about 3lb each but hopes of a last late bagging spell went as the sun dropped behind the trees behind me and I never had another bite.

When the scales got to me the board showed that I wasn't the only one who struggled, 8lb was the top weight. My 3 carp and perch went 9lb 3oz so I was top weight at the time but had to make do with 4th in the end, with just 15lb winning and two 11lb weights taking the other places. The lost early fish had definitely cost me a place, probably a win but I couldn't believe how hard it had fished. Definitely time to make the winter rigs up then! I do think had I been on the next peg (17, which wasn't in and can reach the island with the pole) which is normally used instead of the one I was on I could have had a few fish by fishing shallow tight to the island. A bit frustrating but hey, if I had my float tube with me I possibly wouldn't have been saying that!

On For A Hat-Trick....

Well, after a successful last two weeks I was hoping to make it three in a row this week. Talk at the draw was about peg 53, as with the wind blowing in to it and blowing the leaves in to it apparently it was heaving! Not that it mattered to me as it was gone when my hand went in the draw bag! I was reasonably happy with my peg (57) as it has some recent form, being as it was second a two weeks ago in the last match.

I had three rigs put up for the day, first was for the far bank, slightly to my left. I didn't go right up the bank in the 'bay' (if you look at the pic you'll see what I mean) as it was too shallow. I plumbed along the bank until I found a nice two foot of water pretty tight to the bank. Rig for this was .16 Garboline to a 15 B711 with a Preston 15h lakky. Float for this was a 4x10 Durafloat. Second rig up was for down the track, but I decided to something a bit different and fish it at 5m, my side of the deepest water. I thought I'd get away with it with the depth (five and a half foot) plus with the leaves floating past with a long rig it would be easier to fish close. Float for this was a .3gr diamond bodied pattern on .16 line again to a 15 B711. Elastic was a 14 latex. Last rig was for the margins to my left at the empty (un-used and overgrown) next peg. This was fished about a foot off the sleeper in near three foot of water. Float was a 4x12 Preston Somo which I've doctored to take a 1.5mm plastic tip. Line was .16 to a 14 B611 and elastic was a soft purple hydro. Bait was corn, hemp, pellet and a bit of meat in reserve.

At the whistle I gave the track and margins about a third of a pot of mostly hemp with a few grains of corn while the far bank got a decent pinch of pellet. Across on pellet and what I hoped wouldn't happen did - the bait was shredded by small fish! After two unsuccessful drops across I gave up pellet as a bad job and started to drip hemp and corn across too. From where I was I could easily see peg 53 and there were a lot of fish moving in it. After about another quarter of an hour I had a liner on corn followed by a proper bite which gave me a small carp about a pound and a half. The next bite came just after the half hour mark, and as I was playing this I saw peg 53 hook their first fish down the edge. My second fish was about 2lb and 15 minutes later was followed by fish number three, again about 2lb. I hooked fish number four just before the hour but it pulled off at the net and as I pulled the rig tight on the top-kit to check the depth it snapped! I'd only made it that morning too!

After topping up all the lines I put a quickly made up a new rig (yeah I know, I should have spares made up!) and back in a crucian about 12oz was quickly followed by another carp, this one a touch bigger at about 3lb. After this the swim started to fade but other than 53 (who had three fish that would have doubled my weight) nobody else had a lot. I wanted to leave the edge a bit longer so I dropped in down the track for ten minutes without any joy. Back across another carp fell, again to corn but they seemed to back off after. The next half an hour was a dead loss so with just under two hours gone I baited with a single grain of corn and dropped in down the edge, pulling the corn on to the slope so it balanced the float perfectly. It sat there for no more than twenty seconds before it shot away, but I missed it! The next three bites however weren't missed and in about twenty minutes three carp for around 10lb found their way in to the net. Nice, but smaller than those I could see 53 catching!

Predictably after an early flurry the fish went a bit iffy and after missing a bite and seeing a carp spook I topped up the swim and left it. Going back across got an instant response again with another 2lb'er before a tiny carp of about 2oz came next but again the fish didn't seem to want to stay. Peg 53 wasn't having any of those problems fishing to the marginal lillies in their swim mind....

After a barren spell two quick fish followed up the side again before disaster struck in the form of the next peg to my right packing up and walking right along the edge of the bank where I was catching! They could have walked a lot further away if they wanted but by the time I noticed it was too late. Predictably that area died so it took a good search of the swim and half an hour for the next bites. The next two fish came in successive drops on the 5m line, both to corn and again at that typical 3lb size. The next bite was missed so I topped the line up and left it alone. The next fish was from across which was a crucian that must have been all of 2lb and was followed by my biggest fish of the day, a common of about 5lb.

That started a spell of decent action across, although I reckoned on being about 30lb behind peg 53. This spell was typically one or two quick fish across before they would fade out but by dropping in to the margins in the quiet spells I managed odd fish from their too, but it hadn't really come to life since being walked past! None of the fish were big, 3lb'ers typically with an odd 4lb fish but with an hour to go I found myself on 19 carp (not counting the 2oz fish!) but with the far bank starting to fade. I had a quick try down the track but with no joy and the sun was now also coming through the trees on the far bank and in to my eyes, making it hard to see across.

I'd started to get silly bites down the side that I couldn't connect with so I put on two small cubes of meat as a change hookbait (I hadn't fed any) This had an instant response with a mental ghostie of about 2lb but failed to work again! Rotating the swims gave nothing across or down the track and just silly knocks down the side that I thought were roach (there were a lot of them topping). With half an hour left I decided to try double corn down the edge, and no sooner had it hit the bottom than the pole was nearly wrenched from my hands! three more followed, again all about 3lb before I missed the last bite just before the whistle! With 24 carp plus the bits I reckoned to have just over 70lb. I knew I didn't have the weight of peg 53 who I reckoned would have just over 100lb, despite their denials!

My guessing proved to be pretty spot on as it happened! Peg 53 won the match with 101lb 15oz and my 74lb 3oz was enough for second, with a low 40lb weight being third so there was a similar gap between the winner and me, and me and third, but the weights after that were pretty tight.

I have to say despite not winning I really enjoyed the day. It was never easy to keep the fish coming and I had to fish neat and tidy to get bites, and rotate the swims to keep them coming. I didn't lose many fish, just three and one of those was foul hooked, although I'm a little less happy about having someone pack up and walk right along the edge where I was fishing. Bad form in my book when they could have walked around and kept away....

I'm sure the biggest difference between me and first was that I had no real cover in my swim. It seemed a day of two's and maybe three's before they backed off, where as first place had a bed of lillies in their margin so the fish never really backed away. I think had the walker not gone past I may have pushed them closer but with the stamp of fish seemingly that much smaller in my swim (maybe again with the cover) I think I would have been hard pushed to make up the gap. Still, I had plenty of bites and fish and as I said earlier having to work for them made it more enjoyable. I hope for more of the same next week!

Sunday 4th October

Well, it's official - summers gone! Don't let the picture fool you, not long after I took it the cloud came in, the wind picked up and I spent the rest of the day wearing a jacket for the first time in six months or so!

I wasn't really sure how best to approach the lake as I missed the last match on this lake, plus I hadn't caught much off it the last few times either! My mind was made up a little when I drew peg 14. I did have the same peg a few weeks ago and spent two thirds of the match trying to fish 17m tight to the island in a swirling wind before putting the tip up with 90 minutes to go and catching well on that, finishing second by not a lot! I put up a rig for the long pole, in about 2ft of water across. This was on .16 line to a 15 B711 hook and was on a 15h lakky. I also put up a rig to fish caster over this line about 18in deep on the same gear. Last pole rig was for the margins. Peg 15 in the corner won a few weeks ago, and with that peg not in I could fish quite long down the edge towards the corner, about 12m down from where I was, in between two lilly beds. Gear for this was a 14 B611 on .16 line and lakky was a doubled no 8, which I've started to try on odd occasions. Lastly of course, I also put up the tip rod and had a cast or three with a lead to get it clipped up. With a few cooler nights I had bought maggot and caster with me, but with the water still holding good colour I decided to start on hemp and corn, and only dribble caster in if bites were hard to come by.

On the whistle I fed a small pinch of hemp and corn across, while the margin had a slightly more generous amount, about 1/3rd of a small cup. My first bite on corn wasn't long coming, with a crucian about 8oz making it's way in. Not much followed other than dinks from small fish so I started to drip in hemp with an odd grain of corn via a toss-pot, although the swirly breeze had started to make it hard to hold the long pole. Next proper bite came about a minute after a liner, just as I was contemplating the shallow rig, but again this only a small fish, a carp of 12oz or so.

The next spell turned to be fruitless so I started to introduce casters to both lines in a bid to stir something up. Not long after a carp swirled right tight to the far bank so I put the shallow rig on, baited with caster but in three drops the bait never stayed in the water more than 5 seconds before a 1oz roach nabbed it, so it was back on the corn! Odd knocks on corn were all that followed in the next hour, most likely from the roach attracted by the casters, plus the wind had picked up and was making presentation awkward, so I decided to dampen the groundbait I'd hastily knocked up and have a quick drop in the edge where I'd seen odd signs of fish moving, albeit right up the bank in inches of water and they most definitely weren't feeding.

Odd knocks on corn in the margin were all that followed, always when I lifted and dropped the rig. I suspected small fish were the culprits so tried caster and was rewarded with two plump 2oz perch and a tiny roach. With that being the response I riddled the groundbait off and then set the tip rod.

The first chuck was a disappointment, with no indications but on the second the rod steadily pulled round and a small ghostie common of about 2lb was in the net, followed two casts later by his slightly bigger brother, this one about 2.5lb Things were starting to get interesting as I'd only seen one other carp caught! Two casts later and a third ghostie was in the net, again about 2lb and the next drop produced a bigger fish of about 4lb. After that early flurry of fish the swim slowed down, much as I expected. A quick top up of the margin and then after another couple of casts a decent mirror of about 5lb fell to the method. A crucian of a similar size to the first was next before what would have been carp six came off near the net. I was puzzled as to why no hooklength came back until close inspection showed that the ring that's tied to the elastic on the feeder had come untied! The first time I've used them too!

The swim slowed after the lost fish so I had a quick look in the edge. I missed a bite instantly on corn and a carp bow waved out of the swim. The only bites that followed were on caster and produced two perch and a small roach. Back on the tip and the next bite wasn't long in coming, a bream of about 2lb! A bite next chuck gave me a much bigger carp, probably nudging 8lb but again no more followed. After a short time with no more bites I dropped back in the edge on corn. A bite came after perhaps a minute, just after a liner. Now I know the double elastic has become very popular but it has to be said I felt distinctly 2nd in charge behind a carp of not much more than 2lb! Stupidly I dropped back in on the same lakky next chuck and hooked another carp, but I never got anywhere near seeing the fish before the hook pulled long since after the lakky bottomed out. I changed the lakky to a Preston 15h but predictably the lost fish had scared off the fish which were never that confident, so with 2hrs left it was back on the tip.

A flurry of bites (all the bites had come to hair rigged corn) put me up to 10 carp with an hour to go, including another lump of about 8-9lb and the others of a good size before I couldn't by a bite on the tip. The last hour was spent chopping between the edge and the tip, but only caster in the edge could get me bites, mostly from tiny perch before they dried up with 20 minutes to go. A liner followed by a proper bite gave me my 11th carp, about 3lb and I have to say after changing the lakky I was much more comfortable playing this fish! The swim still showed signs of carp after but I couldn't manage to conjure one out before the whistle.

While waiting for the scales someone told me I must have 60lb in the net, no chance I said! expecting my fish to maybe nudge 50 at best. My bits went 5lb 5oz but I was very surprised when I came to lift out my carp net! with 55lb 1oz on the scales I have to say I was surprised! I know I had two right lumps but the other fish were much heavier than I thought! With a 60lb 6oz total it's just as well I didn't have a bet on my total! (should have started on the tip!) Surprisingly, the fancied pegs in the 20's had struggled and I was comfortably 1st, by near 40lb so the day was a success, although I'm not sure about the doubled elastic. That said, despite the fish not really having it they were still scrapping like summer. I won't write it off just yet as plenty of very good anglers use it, but maybe just like latex or hollows, it's not right for everyone or some just won't like it! Hopefully next week I'll get a good chance to test it again!