Sunday 30th January (W/L Rd 1)

With the first round of the winter league approaching (which was weather delayed!) I don't think I was the only person nervously looking at the weather in the run up to the weekend. Thankfully, Friday nights sharp frost didn't happen again Saturday night as the cloud increased in darkness. It didn't totally stop the ice though, with a small amount of cat-ice covering the top end of the lake from pegs 44 across to 75.


At the draw most people wanted a peg round the island, given that they were the most consistent pegs of late (and still more coloured too), but by the time I drew last weeks winning peg (59) was gone. I was quite happy with peg 72 in the reeds that came out in my hand though! Even though it was the shortest walk of the day I decided to take my gear in two trips, and when I came back to the car park to get my carryall I was told that for the second week running I'd drawn the golden peg - now that normally ruins the day!


In terms of setting up it didn't take long really (I'd made piles of rigs during the week in the evening, and filled my hook-length box too, no messing on the bank for once) as I only had one rig to plumb up. This was at 13m, where I swished the pole tip in the water to disperse the cat-ice that you can see in the picture. In the flat calm a 4x14 Preston Chianti in near six feet of water was my preferred float, on .14 line to a .12 hook link and an 18 hook. I also had a 4x12 Chianti set on the same terminal gear set to fish about 16in off the bottom. Both these rigs were matched to Preston 11h elastic. Lastly I had two rigs up for the edge, both Preston pink floats in 4x8, one set to fish a foot deep and the other to fish about 16in deep. Both were on .14 to .12 but with size 16 hooks and Preston 13h to steer the fish away from the reeds, which had started to knock once people had made their way around the lake. I was even ready a good quarter of an hour before the start, unusual for me!


On the whistle I left the margins and went out long with a grain of corn to see if anything was present before I fed. After five biteless minutes or so I cupped in four maggots long before picking up the shallowest of my margin rigs and dropping in the edge on an 8mm bread punch. I gave it ten minutes or so but with no signs I swapped over for the deepest margin rig, again with punch. This didn't take long to produce with a small common of about 2lb falling to the punch just as it settled. Not long after I netted this fish someone just along the bank also netted a fish, taken on the bomb and corn. About ten minutes after the first bite the punch on the same rig again produced, and a similar sized common joined his brother in the net. The next drop was again an instant response to the punch, but this fish was a touch smaller at about a pound and a half, but at least I was catching! At this point I also saw someone on the other bank take a fish that looked a good 6lb+, again on the bomb and corn. Just nudging the fifty minute mark my fourth bite gave me another small carp on punch, again about 2lb, before the swim again went quiet.


I had a bite less half an hour down the edge before deciding to try out long with maggot, pouring myself a deserved coffee before I shipped out! No sooner had the float settled to the pimple that I had it (held up only by grease and fished dead depth) than the faintest bite saw a typical winter brown goldfish fight, one long charge off before plodding like a bream, but at near a pound and a half (and after the last few weeks!) it was a welcome fish none-the-less. Nothing followed next drop so I potted in three more maggots and missed a bite on that drop, but no more happened despite working the rig so heading towards the two hour mark I came back to the margins.


Despite fish being present I couldn't get a bite on punch so I swapped to a single caster and quite quickly had a bite on this, again only a small fish of about a pound and a half but still welcome! I couldn't get a bite after this on either of my margin rigs, despite going back to punch and even trying maggot, so after a fruitless half an hour here I went back out long. Again fishing single maggot and not long after dripping three maggots over the float I had a very delicate bite just after I'd lifted the rig and left it to settle again. This fish felt much bigger than the others and after a sluggish fight a common of nearer 4lb than three was in the net. I again missed a bite next drop before nothing else followed, so not wanting to push the swim I came back in the edge.


Nothing fell fishing to the reeds to my right, as they'd seemed to have backed right into them, but I saw a group of fish to my right in the edge, so fishing left handed to reach into where they were I dropped in on punch. I could see some big fish swimming here, including a couple of sizable ghosties so I was thinking in terms of a bigger fish when the float plincked under, but the lively fight gave me another 2lb'er! Still, I was happy with the progress considering the cold, and the most I'd seen anyone else catch was two (albeit bigger) on the bomb and corn. I had no more bites down either side, trying both punch and caster and the shallower rig, and even dropped in further down the edges but after no bites I again went out long.


As had been the pattern here I laid the rig in, tipped out the three maggots and lifted the rig through the falling bait again, and this again produced a bite. This fish again felt bigger but the fight was livened up by the fact that it was hooked in the pectoral fin! In the net it was again nearer to 4lb than three. No more bites followed so with two hours to go I came back in the edge. I missed a bite on punch to my left but no more followed and then again I saw a group of fish to my right, tight in to the bank. Fishing left handed again the punch fooled another fish but despite the presence of the larger fish that I could see it was again a fish of about 2lb!


That last fish in the edge spelled the end to bites for a while inside, while going long I missed a bite but I'm sure that was a liner. With an hour to go I had a bite on the deeper rig in the left margin on punch, and I played a lively mirror of about 2lb to the net before it pulled off! That proved to be the last bite I had down the side, but rotating the swims each time I went long I had a carp, all of that slightly bigger size, and all on single red maggot. I never had two bites in a row but each time I rested it, it produced a fish! The bites were very delicate but I never missed any and finished the match with eleven carp and the brownie / crucian.


As the scales came round it was evident that it had fished very hard for everyone and as the last to weigh in the best anyone had managed was 12lb odd. A fair few people had caught one carp late but the cold had really knocked it for six. My fish totalled 32lb 10z on the scales for a perfect start to the winter league, oh and the golden peg! It wasn't a bumper pay-day though, as the winter league golden peg is separate to that of the opens, and of course it's only the first match! Still, it's nice to be catching some fish!

Sunday 23rd January

With this weeks open being the last match before the winter league I was rather keen to get on the bank and actually catch a fish- I really didn't want to be going in to the league without having caught a fish for over two months!


I didn't walk too far round the lake in the morning, just as far as the reed pegs which, as per usual, were solid! The water looked to have a touch more colour to it too. Normally in the winter the reeds or the open water are the place to draw but just lately the island pegs seem to have thrown up odd fish and the deep water hasn't. Apart from in the reeds peg 59 was the one most wanted as there were a lot of fish present round the back of the island last week, when it wasn't pegged! The fact that all the reed pegs and 59 were gone by the time I drew perhaps showed the merit of an early draw (drawing early doesn't work for me though!) but I was pretty happy with 62, a peg that tends to produce fish in the winter. It's also the first time I've drawn the peg in four years at the venue and been able to fish it properly, as the one time I drew it before it was frozen solid. On the downside, just I was was walking off it was drawn as the golden peg! A sure-fire kiss of death......


My optimism lifted a touch when I put my box down as the water seemed to be a touch more coloured round the island. The peg has a lot of room, with the point of the island in front but a long margin to the left with a few stick-ups. With so much room I had five rigs up to allow me to experiment with the swim and find some fish. First up was for the side of the island at 13m in just over 3ft of water, which also usefully doubled up for about 12m down the edge, in a gap of some stick-ups. I also had two shallow rigs for the edge, although they would also be tried across. I also had two rigs up for fishing in the deep water, about five feet at 11m to my left and at 10m in the deepest water I could find out to my right, about 6in deeper. All the rigs had .12 hook-links with the shallow and right hand track rigs having 16 B611's, for punch on the shallow rigs and corn on the track rig. The other rigs had 18's on to fish maggot or pinkie. From where I was sat I could see a lot of fish swirling and moving in front of peg 59, but nothing had moved where I was!

On the whistle I fed a tiny pinch of crumb with four pinkies in across, while the left and right track lines got four maggots and three grains of corn respectively. I slipped an 8mm piece of punch on to the deepest shallow rig and dropped in down the edge on the hope that I could get a mug fish from the marginal cover at 13m. I had about ten minutes down the edge with no indications, lifting and dropping the rig and, with a longer line above the rig, flicking it away from the pole. I was just thinking about changing when peg 59 hooked a fish, which when netted looked a good 4lb+. Time to try across then!


I baited up with two pinkies and went across, and was pleased when I saw a group of fish cruise through, even though they were heading towards peg 59 who was now playing their second fish! After a few minutes I had a liner which lead to nothing so I re-baited with a single red maggot and put a tiny pinch of crumb with three pinkies into a tiny pole mounted cup. I tapped the bait out across, laid the rig in over the top and as it settled the float dinked under and I found myself in the unusual situation (of late) of being attached to a fish. It plodded across the lake like a bream, hardly fighting against the 11 hollo and keeping the pole low a common of about 4lb promptly came off just as I reached for the net. AAAAARRRRGGGH! How I didn't turn the air blue (or jump in after it!) I don't know. I hadn't put any pressure on it and my first fish for two months just slipped away! Back across on maggot and nothing more followed so I swapped to double pinkie and again filled the pot with a tiny pinch of bait. As I shipped out I saw a group of fish cruising up the island towards me and like before I tapped the bait out, laid the rig in over it and the float dinked under as it settled! After a very nervy fight (from me) I slipped the net under a common of about 3lb, and my whoop of joy was heard around the lake! I was really in strange territory when I repeated the process next drop in and found myself into a fish again, but around half the size this time.


After a very quick flurry I was wary of feeding too much so dropped in after without feeding but had no luck, so again I put a tiny pinch of crumb with three pinkies in the pot and went across. No instant bite this time so I reached for a well earned cup of coffee when the float dinked again, lifting one handed into the bite was no problem, but in the split second delay in putting my coffee down to enable be to ship back the fish came off. This time the air did turn blue!


No more bites in the next two drops and I decided it was a good idea to rest the swim, dropping onto the left hand track line on maggot. In the ten minutes or so I spent here peg 59 had another two fish, and I was just toying with going back across when I saw movement and a group of fish in the margin to my left. In with a shallow rig and punch and the fish cleared off as soon as the pole got anywhere near them, despite a longish line on the rig, so after a few fruitless minutes I decided that I would risk feeding the margin in the hope of encouraging the odd cruiser to go down. Just four casters found their way into the swim before I had a quick (and lifeless) drop back across, before trying the other track line.


The next couple of hours was a going through the motion exercise really- I never saw any signs of fish across, let alone having any indication. Peg 59 continued to catch odd fish, until the last hour when they started catching faster! Bankside gossip was that apart from 59 nobody else had more than two fish so I kept my head down tryng to craft a bite from the swim. Odd fish would cruise into the margin when I wasn't fishing it, but never came into the edge when I was fishing it, no matter how long I waited. I tried to the very limit of where I could fish to the point of the island, trying both on the deck with maggot / pinkie / corn or punch, and with the shallow rigs on punch or caster but never had (or saw) a sign of a fish there. I could however, see all the fishy movement in peg 59!


With twenty five minutes to go I had a bite over where I'd started on the island, again on pinkie and again laying the rig in over the tiny pinch of feed. A common of about 4lb graced the net before I missed a bite next drop and found myself attached to the far bank vegetation. I removed the rig without disturbance to the swim but after putting a new identicle rig on I never had another sign of a fish in the swim and I finished on three.


As the scales came round the opposite corner of the island to me had the top weight, with two fish for 7lb odd. Peg 59 comfortably topped that with seventeen carp for 52-10 and my three carp went 8-12. I was eventually pushed down to fourth with someone having four carp for 12lb odd, catching two fish late, and end peg 75 having two carp for 10lb something. Surprisingly, the favoured reed pegs in the 70's both blanked, even though fish were there.


So a mixed day really, I managed to catch a fish for the first time in two months, ending my worst ever run of blanks (five) but I didn't fish well, the two lost fish probably costing me second place. I never had enough fish in front of me to do anymore than that, I walked round to 59 after the match and there were loads of fish present along the whole back of the island, I saw more in a minute than I'd seen in my peg all day! The winner never fed a thing all day, yet I never had a bite unless I fed, albeit in tiny amounts. It won't be so easy next week on that peg in the first winter league round mind, as more pegs round the island will be in and they won't have all the space to themselves. Hopefully I've worked the rustiness (and all the blanks) out of my system and can have a good start to the winter league next week!

Well, At Least The Ice Has Gone.....

Well, the ice was gone last week too! I have to admit though that after spending another bite less session on the bank I didn't really want to write about it!

I was a little optimistic this week, as the weather had been mild for five days before this match meaning that although without doubt the water would still be very cold, it would have at least been rising in temperature. Arriving on the Sunday most of the lake was wind free, although you could hear the very strong wind whistling through the trees. There were two pegs in that I really wanted to draw; peg 72 in the reeds (it won last week, albeit with just 6lb, but the reeds were heaving on the day, as there were again) and peg 62 in the corner, with the (warm) wind blowing down in to it and with signs of fish moving. When I went into the draw bag there were only a couple of pegs left, including 62 and 69- both I'd have been happy with. What I wasn't happy with was peg 48, which has bad cold water form, and I'd already blanked off it not long ago!

Putting my box down I wasn't the most optimistic- it's a shallow peg and the lack of colour meant I could see the bottom in a good 2ft of water. With this in mind my rigs were kept away from the island a touch. A 10m rig fished at an angle to my left found the deepest water I could on the pole at about four and a half feet. I aimed to fish corn here and the rig was a .2gr NG Decker on .14 line to a .12 hook-link with a size 16 B611. I had two rigs up for the island (well, to the left of it rather than the front) at 13m. One to fish in not quite 4ft of water and the other for a bit further up the slope set at 3ft, which could also double up to try shallow over the deeper lines. Lines and hook-links were the same but with smaller size 18 hooks to fish maggot (a 4x12 chianti and a 4x10 PB2 were the floats). Lastly, I had a bomb rod up, both to cast a bit to left towards the open water and also to use over the island lines if the wind got too bad (it did at times during the day before dieing, I took the pic after the match) and also if fish were present on the shallower areas but wouldn't tolerate the pole over them.

Shortly before the start of the match I was buoyed by two things; firstly a group of fish cruised through my swim, following the island, and secondly the sun came out and was not only nice on my back but it also was on the water near the island, leading me to hope that any fish moving in the shallower water here may actually be able to be tempted to feed. Having seen movement I fed the 10m corn line with three grains of corn and four casters before dropping the bomb just past where I intended to fish the pole, hoping to nick a fish there without feeding and perhaps spooking them. I had a proper liner after ten minutes but it didn't develop so after near twenty minutes I changed hook-links and tried a couple of bits of punch. Again the swim showed signs of life in the sun so after twenty minutes without a proper bite I wondered if feeding something may encourage them to get their heads down. By this time peg 69 had two early carp from the deep water, and 72 in the reeds had one, as did 62!

After feeding just three maggots and the same of casters on the long line I had one more chuck on the bomb with corn, a bit further away from the island. Again I had liners but nothing that developed so after twenty more minutes the tip rod went up the bank and a single red maggot went on the long rig. With the pole going out it seemed to stop any signs of life, with no liners and no visible fish moving, even with a fairly long line above the float. I trickled odd maggots in hoping for some sign but it never happened so after half an hour I had a quick drop on the corn line, but this gave nothing. Buy now the sun had gone in and despite my best attempts at making something happen I never had so much as another liner for the rest of the day! Even searching the swim with punch on a long line rig and casting the bomb about failed to produce signs of anything. I still stuck it out to the whistle mind! With no sun on the peg the fish just went away...

For the last hour and a half I watched peg 72 steadily catch to comfortably win the match with 30lb 14oz. Peg 69 was second with three fish for 12lb and 62 was third with one fish of 6lb odd. In the last twenty minutes or so the two end pegs on my bank both had a carp each but the block of pegs in the middle of the lake (where I was) were just blanks. I have to say that the last few sessions now have really knocked by confidence and with a fortnight until the winter league I'm now really questioning myself and the way I've fished. I'm not sure I've done a lot wrong, just wrong place at the wrong time but I'm now toying with either trying something different or not fishing until the winter league starts.

The hunt for a fish continues........

This Wont Take Long

After a couple of weeks away from the bank I was, as usual, itching to get out on the bank- ice or no ice!

Without wanting to spend too much time explaining the day I got a wet foot in the edge breaking ice (not even in my swim! why do people turn up at a frozen fishery expecting to fish without an ice breaker or being prepared to help? With 2 breakers and a boat and 12 turning up we cleared the number of swims and then drew) Fortunately I hadn't changed into my boots so I had dry footwear. I then had a chunk taken out of my thumb when clearing my own swim, as the butt of the cheap telescopic net pole I use for weed cutting and ice clearing slid down and chopped me. I spent the rest of the day with a fetching tissue and black electrical tape plaster on my thumb! Lastly, I blanked! I had some bites but missed them all. They were only on maggot on a 20 B611, and fishing smaller baits, down to slivers of maggot or pinkie or tiny pieces of punch on a 22 B511 didn't get a sniff. I wasn't the only one who had the same problem. There were large shoals of small bitterling in the edge and I'm sure they were responsible.

The match was won with 1 carp and a few small roach, with two small roach being second and nobody else caught. I've come to the conclusion that while there is still ice on venues now I'll not bother. The only saving grace to the day was winning a reel in a prize draw on Matchfishing-scene website- I'd been toying with a new reel for the bomb rod!

Thoughts on 2010....

Well, it seems the year has ended in the same way it started, with ice covering everywhere! Being as I've not been fishing for a couple of weeks (and it's been even longer since I caught a fish!) my withdrawal symptoms have led me look back on the year fishing wise.


The year didn't start on the best note, I blanked on the first weekend of the year, and also on the first round of the winter league, both times through the ice. I managed to save the winter league in the end, dropping the blank as my worst result. I was very pleased with a second place as in three matches on the old lake I never drew a favourable peg in the conditions, but managed frame placings in all three rounds on the new lake to have a respectable result.


The early spring brought a respite from the frosts and a few more fish but it still wasn't great with no real stand out results but at least an end to blanks or scraping out a few tiny roach! As the weather warmed into late spring and early summer my results started to improve as the frame places went away from being a bit of a lottery and more to those who sussed out the feeding!


As the carp got into the feeding habit my results picked up markedly, and this also gave a rise in confidence which always helps when fishing. I had an enjoyable summer really, winning a match first time out with a new pole will always stick in the mind but perhaps the most enjoyable was the two occasions I finished second on the old lake fishing long pole shallow in the open area of the lake. The lake really isn't known for producing weights shallow but when the island pegs were dominating the frame places I was by a long way doing the best from the open water and sneaking into the envelope places! I find it easy to work hard (if that makes sense!) when fishing shallow, and while I admit a slight rustiness at it perhaps cost me a few fish it's a way of fishing I really enjoy.


As Summer turned to Autumn I perhaps managed my highlight of the year in breaking the match record on the new lake, notching up my first match ton for five years in the process with a weight of just over 104lb. It bucked a trend a touch too in that most people were shovelling in corn down the edge to catch where as the majority of my fish came across to pellet where I fed about a pint of bait. This was followed up with a win the weekend after on the old lake with a catch of 59-5 taken predominantly from the 2+2 line (perhaps the tactic that has dug me out of more holes than any this year) although I'll always remember the day for it being the wettest I've sat in for a long while!


With the onset of the cooler weather the weights took an expected drop but I still found myself doing well, more so on the new lake where I seemed to have found it a lot easier to win on this year! One of the more memorable days (on the old lake) would have to be at the end of October when I struggled for much of the day until the 2+2 line produced five very late lumps to leave me just short of first and second place who'd caught all day. Just goes to show you should never give up as with an hour left I was nowhere. Into November and the start of the month was a struggle with me notching up a 2nd place with just 18lb odd. I missed a weekend and getting back onto the bank the 21st of November is quite a memorable date, as it's the last time I caught a fish at the time of writing, nearly six weeks ago! A narrow win that day with 43-2 on maggot taught me the merit of having a hook-length box stocked with plenty of identical hook-lengths as a quick change near the end led me to go strait back out quickly and a late fish won me the match. I'd only bought the box (the small blue Preston one) the day before too!


After that memorable day the ice has arrived and I've only been out twice since then, my longest spells without fishing since the winter of 96/7. Both times have been blanks but the lack of others catching has led me to stay off the bank. I don't mind breaking the ice if there are fish to be caught, but it seems there aren't! I was going to go on the river but even the Cam has been frozen over too so at the moment I'm sitting climbing up the walls! Looks like I'll manage the coming Sunday but the frosts are coming back after it looks like, so what happens is anybodies guess..


So what have I learnt this year? As mentioned not long ago the hook-length box paid for it's self on the first time out, although I admit I still don't use hook-lengths on my shorter rigs. Maybe more experimenting in the summer will see a change to that? Fishing to my strengths is an obvious one (or not following the crowd) I'd consider myself a competent shallow angler and really enjoyed the days I caught on it, considering the venue isn't known for it. I didn't win, but I done considerably better than the sit-and-wait paste and cat meat heads drawn in the same area. I like it as it keeps me busy! I also had a run of results fishing slightly different ways on the same venue, having good days not only fishing pellet, or meat and corn but also a result on the worm in the summer. Perhaps I'd have done just as well fishing exactly the same each time but something told me something slightly different was needed and it done the job for me doing it! I like to feel I can switch to something else if plan A doesn't work and I have to admit I have a bit of pride in myself for being able to pick up fishing different methods and baits rather than being an angler that only does well at one way of fishing! Lastly the 2+2 line has been a good line for me, only trying it after watching Tommy Pickering fish it on a free Preston DVD given out in tackle shops! I only won one match outright off that line, but it gave me valuable extra fish on other days and got me a frame place from nowhere in the last hour on two occasions! That said, I had days where it was deader than a dodo too- you can't have it all! It's one not to give up on and I find it's so easy to keep topped up as feeding it by hand you don't have to stop what your doing!


Right, I guess that's enough of my ramblings, anyway I'm not sure if thinking so much about fishing has helped or made my withdrawal symptoms worse. Like I said I hope to get out this weekend and hopefully the arctic weather won't hang around too much longer so we can all get our fix. I hope you all had a good Christmas and tight lines all for 2011!

Sunday 12th December

After last weeks hard slog I was hoping that this week I'd manage to catch a fish! Despite some warmer weather we didn't manage to get rid of the ice though, with quite a sharp frost in the morning following a very pleasant day on Saturday- the weather really is against us at the moment!

With the typical low post Xmas match turnout (only 8 stayed) the ice was partially cleared quickly with the boat. Seven pegs on one bank in the late number pegs and peg 48 on the other bank- all pegs that weighed in last week. The one peg I didn't want was peg 48 as it's by far the shallowest peg and the sun barely touches the water on it. I suppose it's no real surprise then that it's the number I drew! Still, the one time the sun touched it was when I was taking the picture!


The ice was fairly well broken as the boat had been taken across to the other side from here so it took just two chucks of the ice breaker to clear the ice a touch to my left and let me fish in deeper water, and then my swim was pretty much ready. Two rigs were the order of the day, the first at 13m but towards the corner of the ice rather than the island. This was a 4x10 Preston Chianti in just over 3ft of water, on .12 line to a .10 hook-link and an 18 hook. Lakky was Preston 11h. The second rig was at 10m, again to my left on the edge of the ice. The water here was the deepest I could find at about 10cm deeper than the far line! Rig here was practically the same except on .12 direct and lakky was grey Hydro. The idea was corn here and maggot long. I was fishing pretty much just for a carp (but wouldn't complain at roach!) as a couple showed last week and the others also had holes cleared to allow them to fish long and I figured someone would catch one! Probably from the noted reed pegs as there were signs of carp there.


On the whistle I fed just two casters and the same of corn on the shorter line before trying long on an 8mm piece of punch without feeding there (yes, punch is now allowed again, hooray!) The punch gave no response so I switched to single maggot and set about dripping the odd maggot in long. To cut a long story short I grafted every bit as hard as last week, changing the shoting, trying different baits, working the rig, fishing up and laying line on the bottom but I never had a bite! Nobody else had a bite either until fifteen minutes before the match finished when one of the reed pegs actually had a fish- a bitterling! They went on to be the only catcher out of everybody with a haul of three bitterling and a roach in those last few minutes. We didn't bother t weigh them but my guess is less than 2oz for the lot of them! The only improvement over last week is I know I had a fish in my swim this week, as while fishing corn on the shorter line I'm sure I felt a fish brush the line as I lifted the rig, and this was followed about ten seconds later by the venues notorious monster ghostie swimming lazily past my keep net without a care in the world!


I'm not sure now when the next blog update will be, as to be honest I've had enough of ice breaking then working hard for no reward, and with the weather not looking like offering us a respite until the New Year I may skip the still water matches for a bit. If I need a fishing fix (no doubt I will!) between now and then I shall put some number 4's and 5's in my pole and visit some old river haunts with a few slices of bread and some punch crumb (now the collages have finished so there aren't thousands of rowers, grrr!), and yes, I do know how to catch a few fish from a river! So if I don't update this between now and then I'll wish everyone a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, and hopefully I'll pick up again with a hopefully un-weather interrupted winter league!

Fur and Feather- Eskimo Style!

I'll start off by apologising to those who checked last week for an update when there wasn't one! It wasn't because I done badly, I just didn't go because of the weather. It seemed I made the right choice as I enjoyed the Tottenham game where as the match was won with sixteen perch for 80z! 7oz and 4oz completed the frame weights and on a day when the temperature never got above -2 I think I made the right decision.

On the Saturday a few people had gone to the venue with ice-breakers and used them and the boat to clear a little of the ice, and with the temperature holding above zero overnight coupled with a little rain too it kept the venue fishable. On arriving an area of the new lake was actually ice-free (it had been for a few days) and some carp could be seen cruising near the surface, but they most definitely didn't look like they were in a mood to eat! Still, it's where everyone wanted to draw. I actually fancied a draw on the old lake as the masses of tiny roach would give a busy day, even through the ice but I didn't get my way and drew peg 18 on the new lake, where the ice was!


As I mentioned, the day previous some of the ice had been broken and I (like the others in the ice) had a small hole to about 5m out. I took off a few layers and set about making the hole a bit bigger! I cleared the ice to about 9m but struggled to chuck my ice breaker much further. Still, at least my breaker went through as someone else two pegs up was doing bouncing bomb impressions with a 7lb breaker. My breaker found it's self being used by a couple of others (it even made it to the other lake!) but not one person by way of thank-you took it back to the car park for me, just to my peg! They ALL had barrows too, where as I lug my gear on my back- think I'll be wanting a small usage fee for it next time.....

I decided to keep things simple as the only species I've ever caught on this lake through the ice are small perch which tend not to be tackle shy. Indeed the last time through the ice on that lake was just before Christmas last year on the same peg! I had one rig set up for two areas of my peg, at 9m on the edge of the ice as far as I could get, and one section closer but to my left and again on the edge of the ice. A slim 4x14 DC9 float was on .10 main line to a .09 hook-link and a size 20 B611. Lakky was Preston 9h. I found in the past I got just as many bites of the small perch on that gear as I did on anything lighter, while red maggot had been as good a bait as any
so I stuck with that in the hope that it would also cope with a bonus fish should one happen along. These would most likely be a skimmer or big perch above anything else given the conditions. Others were fishing much finer with pinkie or punch (allowed again for this match) but I was confident enough on maggot! Bait-wise I had red and white maggots (including some older ones that would hopefully still have some life in the cold water) a few casters and a small amount of Sonubaits F1 groundbait darkened down with black dye, hoping it may bring in a skimmer.

On the whistle I fed the furthest line with a marble sized pinch of crumb with just two maggots and casters in, while the closer line had just four maggots. I was going to drip odd maggots over the longer line to try and provoke life, while just leaving the other line. Normally it takes perhaps half an hour to get a bite in similar conditions so I played around with the rig over the longer line, trying just on or off the bottom, red or white maggot, lifting and jigging the rig or leaving it still. On the hour mark I have to admit I was worried about not having had a bite, and none of the four or five others I could see had either. I had a drop on the other line and tried the same things to provoke a bite but with absolutely no joy. Word came round that someone on the favoured reed pegs on the other lake had a carp, while the early pegs on my lake (where it was ice free and fish seen) had lost odd foul hookers.

On the two hour mark a carp had been caught in those early pegs, but again everyone I could see was bite less and odd people started to walk about. I decided to chop up a half a dozen maggots and feed them on the closer line but this failed too. I could see no point in scaling down as people fishing squatt or pinkie on much lighter gear were all bite less too! I kept up the rotating of the two swims, dripping an odd maggot on the far line while tinkering with the rig in an attempt to make a bite happen, but despite working hard to get a response I couldn't find it. I have to admit I was worried as I'd never blanked on the lake before, but it was looking likely!

With an hour to go the temperature dropped and cat-ice started to form around the edge of my ice hole. I got up and went for a bit of a walk to get the circulation going again and saw one of the early pegs dropping their second carp into their net before walking back and joining the ranks of the bite less (those that were still there) in the Eskimo holes. I gave it till ten minutes before the end before doing something I rarely do and packed up early! The sausage rolls and mince pies in the barn were calling me.......

In the end out of the sixteen or so drawn on my lake there were only three to weigh in, one angler with two carp (who won overall), one with one carp (second overall) and one with one carp and a small perch, beaten by two anglers on the other lake who'd had carp. Incidentally, all the carp on my lake were foul-hooked, meaning that just the one small perch was the only fish caught "properly" on my lake! There were a few catchers on the other lake- three anglers had caught a single carp while most of the others had a few small roach so I was right in wanting a draw on that lake! To cap the day off my peg number came out late in the peg raffle so my choice was a little limited, and had to "make do" (ahem!) with twelve cans of Carling-the brightest part of the day!

I have to admit that's the hardest I'd ever worked for a blank, but in the end I just had the feeling that there wasn't a fish in front of me to catch, and like I said even those fishing finer on my lake also failed to get a bite. It was just one of those days and I think that had I had bloodworm and joker it would have been no better. The weather is forecast to stay cold for a bit, albeit with a slight improvement by the weekend. Fingers crossed that will be the end of it!