Well, no frost yesterday morning to report! The weather was quite pleasant for the last few days and I was optimistic that the fishing would be quite decent...
As per usual, I took a place quite late in the draw queue, and had mixed feelings when peg 20 came out in my grasp - I've not drawn it lately, but in the past it's been a very good peg. However, it's recent form hasn't been that great, and the last match showed the fish were starting to group-up in the late 20's and in to the 30' - their usual winter haunts. The peg doesn't have great winter form!
It was noticeable as I pushed my shuttle round the lake that the colour had started to drop out of the water, and the lake was a fair bit clearer than it had been a fortnight ago. I had three rigs up for the day, and the far bank one was a bit lighter than had been lately given the colour dropping out - a small NG XTM in about 22in of water in the bay at 16m slightly to my left was on .15 mainline with a .13 hook-link with a size 20 Fox Series 2. At 13m, where it had just as it started to shallow up I had about 6ft of water. The rig here was a .4gr NG Decker, with the same terminal gear as above. Lastly, I had a rig for the margin at 10m to my right. In about 3ft of water I had a small 4X12 Preston Somo which I've taken the cane tip out of and changed for a plastic one. Lines on this were .17 to .15 and a slightly bigger hook, to hopefully cope with a few margin lumps! Lakky on all three rigs was Preston 13h on a pull-bung.
At the start I fed a small pinch of pellet, meat and corn down the track and in the edge, before filling my small Toss-Pot up with half-a-dozen pellets and a pinch of crumb. I'd had two drops doing this fishing with an expander on the hook before I had a liner. I tried half a worm next chuck, which gave me a tiny perch. I'd only seen two bream caught so far, so it was slow going for everyone!
About forty minutes in to the match I saw a carp swirl on my far line as I was shipping across, so I lowered my rig down without tapping the feed out of the pot and it was away! For a few seconds at least, as what felt a good fish stayed on for just a few seconds before the rig came back with the hook-link cut in half cleanly.
The lost fish was the last sign I saw of life across for a bit. Odd carp were getting caught now, but the only bites I could get were from tiny perch on either worm or maggot across. I'd topped up the track and margins with tiny amounts after loosing that fish, and on the ninety minute mark I decided to try the track line. I started with a small cube of meat, and had a liner there. A change to a grain of corn got me a bite instantly, and I played the carp back to the top-kit when the hook pulled! It wasn't a big fish, bit I was getting the feeling it was going to be one of those days....
With that lost fish any signs of better fish died away. I'd seen the odd fish move at the extreme left of my peg, so I decided to start a new swim there on the island. With the fishing being hard I decided on a winter rig! It was a touch shallower where I'd seen the movement (and I wasn't sure it was carp), but I stuck with the 13h lakky. The rig was a small Preston PB2 set about 18in deep with a 16 B611 on a .14 hook-link. It may look strange stepping up but the hook-link was a different line (Garbo line) as opposed to the Preston Reflo Power I use for my summer fishing - it's a bit suppler, and also the Reflo is in reality .15 where as the Garbo is actually what it says on the spool.
I put a tiny Cad-Pot on the pole and started to drip odd casters there, fishing single caster on the hook. I had bites strait away doing this, mostly from dumpy roach in the 1-2oz bracket, with an odd bigger one. If I put maggot on I caught a perch! I plodded away for half an hour catching roach before it died a sudden death! Suspecting a carp may be responsible I slipped a grain of corn on, and away went the float. A very lively fight ensued, and I honestly thought I was going to lose the fish as it picked up a branch in the edge. In the end I slipped the net under a cracking looking yellow ghostie of about 8lb - a few more of those and we'd be in business!
Sadly, hooking the carp had killed the swim totally and even the perch had gone! News came round that the pegs in the late 20's and in to the 30's were catching, while I couldn't raise a bite from anywhere in my swim. It wasn't until about half an hour before the end when I had another bite, with single caster giving me a little common of about 2lb.
As a whole, the lake fished much harder than I thought it would. Peg 27 won (the peg I won the last match on that lake from) with 37lb - only four carp and one 2lb skimmer! There was a another 30lb weight and a couple of big 20's but a fair few people also did as I had done and tipped their odd fish back!
I don't really think there was a lot I could have done different, although it was frustrating losing those two fish - there just wasn't any number of fish in front of me to catch, something that may now happen with the onset of winter! Fishing the lighter rig from the off may have got me an extra fish or two, but I doubt it would have bought a framing weight. The weather looks good for the next few days, but it's due to turn cold for the weekend - I think I best have a proper rig tying session, and re-do the winter rig side of my winder tray!
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