Longer term readers may remember that nearly a year ago after an indifferent match on lake one I predicted that a choppy approach would be the way to go, and the next week (back on the same lake) I didn't bring any worm and the match was then won by somebody who did! I wasn't doing the same again so this week I came armed with half a kilo of worms too after saying I thought worm would be the way last week. I did forget to order more casters during the week mind, so had to make do with just a pint, DOH!
I walked around the lake before the draw and had a few pegs in mind that I'd like; 5, 7, 11, 20 and 37. I didn't manage any of those but was fairly happy with peg 14, as while it's quite a wide peg (just over 16m) it also has a long margin with plenty of overhanging cover. I meant to take a picture of the margins too but forgot! Just as well mind, took ages to load the picture now I have treated myself to a proper camera instead of using my phone.
Plan of attack was two rigs for across, firstly a 4x12 rig for just over 2ft of water across at about 16.5m. I couldn't fish any tighter over due to the roots in the water. Second rig was a shallow rig set to fish at foot deep, and maybe to chance shoving right in to the bank if I was brave! Both were on .15 direct to an 18 Fox Series 2 hook. Float on the shallow rig was a 4x10 PB2 where as the deck rig was a Durafloat that I can't remember the number of. Lakkys were 15h on the deck rig and black hydro on the shallow. I also had a rig for the 2+2 line fished slightly to my right, downwind. This was just behind a lilly bed too, in about five and a half feet of water. I'm sure you know the rig for this by now! Last up was a margin rig. After a good plumb around I settled for a line at about 12m to my left, in just over two foot of water. This was a 4x12 Malman float, I don't know which pattern it is as I've had it since a tackle review for Midland/Southern Angler magazine three years ago. The most important thing (apart from it's strength) was that it has a yellow top! (why are they so hard to come by?) Rest of the rig was standard margin gear; purple Hydro with .18 line direct to a 16 Fox Series 2.
I was a bit late starting today (making rigs on the bank!) so about five minutes after everyone else the far line was few with half a pot of chop and caster, while the 2+2 line had quarter of a pot of hemp and corn. Lastly the margins had half a pot of meat, hemp and corn. Unsurprisingly the wind had also taken the whistle as a signal to start, making me glad I'd left a long line above the float. A missed bite on a 2in piece of worm was followed by two micro perch. Topping up with a toss-pot after the second perch I decided to try double caster. This had the desired result as lifting resulted in lakky streaming out! A common of about two and a half pound found it's way in pretty quickly. Next drop gave another tiny perch so I tried a grain of corn out of the choppy mix. This also gave a quick response and a common that was the twin of the first was soon in the net. The next drop however saw me foul hook and lose a fish and this seemed to slow everything up.
I took the lull as a chance to top up the other two lines before going across again on worm. The tiny perch seemed to have disappeared and the odd bite that followed in the next half an hour or so gave chunky perch in the 4-6oz bracket. They weren't coming fast, and the odd liners in between lead to me trying the shallow rig but to no avail. I kept topping the swim up with a toss-pot of choppy mix every few minutes and just after the hour mark carp number three fell, a ghostie of about 2lb on a 2in long piece of worm. The swim definitely felt like it was going away from me at this time, and the wind was picking up too. The peg to my right was starting to catch now, but they looked like smallish fish.
The next two hours were very frustrating, I foul hooked and lost a fish across, while also missing a couple of bites on the shallow rig. I gave the 2+2 line a go and had a quick bite on corn but that only gave me a pastie of about 10oz, but no more bites followed. A drop in the margins where odd fish were starting to move gave me just one missed bite on meat. I plugged away for a bit but nothing else came so I decided to put a big pot of choppy in the edge. I rested the line for ten minutes before dropping in again. I gently lowered a 2in piece of worm down and it just carried on going, followed by the elastic! A chunky 4lb common was soon in the net, but the next few drops gave only perch. I decided to try two small cubes of meat which had been in the worm mix (I'd thrown meat, hemp and corn in with the worm to bulk out the particle content as I was rationing the casters) This gave a pretty quick result with a fat mirror of about 5lb before I lost a fish next drop and predictably bites slowed. I topped up with a whole pot of choppy mix and had ten minutes on the 2+2 line but only a liner followed on it.
The last hour and a half was quite steady in the end once I'd worked it out; the small toss-pot was changed for a large one and fed after every fish, even the micro perch! Normally two or three perch would then be followed by a carp (or two or three) before the swim faded. This would then be the signal to feed a large amount with the big cup and start again. None of the fish were big, 4lb'ers being the average stamp but with an odd smaller one thrown in. One or two two inch pieces of worm were doing the damage. With twenty minutes to go I was on fourteen carp when my steady rhythm went to pot when the wind blew at the same time as I bounced a perch off, leaving my rig up the marginal bush! Resting the pole on the bank I had to walk along the bank and crash through the cover to get it back, only sitting back on my box I found I'd snapped the wrong branch! Ooops! Back in again and the rig was free, except no self respecting carp would come back, right? wrong! After two perch (feeding on top as I was) the third bite was met with yards of elastic. Until it got stuck in the lillies past where I was fishing! I got it out, played it to the net where it got stuck in the lillies just to my right and I lost it! And the rig..... With just a minute or so left I didn't bother to start again, but could clearly see two or three big fish feeding in the margins. Guess they knew what time it was!
Top weight when the scales got to me was about 25lb, and the most anyone was admitting to was about 40lb. I was sure I'd have just over 50lb, and with not quite 5lb of bits thrown in too I totaled 58lb 10z. Following the scales round saw a 35lb weight followed by a 46lb and a 41lb weight leaving me first! I was happy enough with the result, but I do think had I fed the edge with worm from the off I could have had a bigger weight, as fish were there pretty quick but I couldn't catch when I dropped in. Still, I enjoyed the day and it's given me something to work on in the future when the fish don't seem to be feeding so well.
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