Bank Holiday Pairs Match

Nice to see that the bank holiday has kept up it's usual tradition, seeing as it's been lovely all week and once the weekend arrived so did the rain and cold!

I was hoping for a change in my luck at the draw bag ( I was elected to draw, even though my form in the bag isn't great at the moment!) Going in the queue late some good combinations of pegs had already come out of the bag, so I wasn't optimistic! In the end I was reasonably happy with the combination of pegs that come out of the bag, with numbers 12 and 42. With 12 being a wider peg I was took that, being the younger one of the pair!

I hadn't walked round but from the car park I knew it would be in full blast of the wind. I think the time I took the picture was as calm as it got! I wasn't that optimistic about the peg to be honest, having struggled of it in the past. I did set up a pole rig to fish up the island at about 15m, but envisaged I'd end up on the tip. This was something that came to the fore while I was changing the rig, as the wind launched both my pole and the rollers over. How it didn't damage my pole I don't know- I was very lucky there. So a small method it was to fish over! A pole rig for 12m and down the peg was set up just where it started to shallow up. In 6ft of water a .4gr diamond bodied float was put up, on .17 line to a .13 hook length and a 15 B711. Last rig up was for the right margin at 5m, where there was a slight bay in the edge with a little bank side cover hanging in to it. This rig was on .16 line direct to a size 20 Fox series 2 hook. Elastic was Preston 15h and the swim was about two and half feet deep. I also found an area in the left margin the same depth, but I didn't feed it at the start as it was facing in to the wind and I didn't want to feed it and not be able to fish it!

On the whistle I fed the deep swim with half a pot of hemp, a few 4mm pellets and a few grains of corn, while the margin had a 50/50 mix of hemp and pellet, with a few grains of corn. A single hair rigged grain of corn was cast across on the method. A perfect cast first time, with the feeder splashing the island, resulting in a bite after only a minute or two, a good start! Only a common of about 2lb but I was off the mark. The next chuck the tip went round and unbelievably, there wasn't a fish on the end! The third chuck gave me a small ghostie of about 2lb then the next fish made the roots, and after a bit of too-ing and fro-ing it came off. It was a little while before the next bite, probably on the 45min mark. This was again a fish of probably 2 1/2lb. I topped up the long line (I was feeding the margin with a few pellets by hand) and went back on the tip. I then had another quick bite, picking up the rod there was no resistance and when I wound in the hook length was cut clean in half.

The loss of another fish seemed to slow the swim down a bit, with nothing in the next 45 minutes although I was still getting liners. I did top up the deep line again and kept plugging away on the tip. Coming up to the two hour mark two quick fish made it in to the net. Not big fish but a touch bigger than the others at probably 3lb a piece. The swim then seemed to fade again, although I was still getting odd liners so I decided to try the deep pole swim. I gave it near ten minutes and just as I was about to give up on it the float ducked under but I missed it! I gave it a bit longer but no more bites came so it was back on the tip.

The spell on the tip was a bit frustrating ( including one chuck that got stuck up the island!) as fish seemed to come instantly to the feeder, with a flurry of liners before fading off quick. I tried having the bait right on top of the feeder instead of burying it- hoping that the fish would find it quickly. The idea was sound in principle but it didn't work! The next thing to try was adding some micro pellets to the mix, so while these were soaking I had a drop in the margin on pellet. I had a bite instantly and soon another 3lb common was in the net. I missed a bite next drop in and then had another common of about 3lb. I was just starting to think I was going to empty the margins when the next drop I pricked a fish and the swim quietened off. I topped up with a quarter of a pot of hemp and pellet, then mixed the soaked micro's in to the crumb for the feeder. I was going to feed the left margin but the wind was a big no-no now, gusting at times at stupid strengths!

The addition of the pellets seemed to have an instant response, as carp number nine made it's way in, a mental ghostie common of about 3lb. On the next cast the second hail shower of the day started and as I reached for my jacket the tip wrenched round but with the slight delay in picking up the fish was snagged in the roots. I had another drop in but the activity had faded so I went in on the pole in the deep water. I missed a bite which may have been a liner, before missing two bites that almost certainly weren't! Back in the margins and two more fish made their way to the net in the next twenty minutes, although both being only just 2lb a piece. The indications seemed to slow a bit so I topped up with a quarter of a cup of bait and went back on the tip.

The first cast bought just some liners so I decided to try two hair rigged pellets instead of corn. This gave an instant response with a fish that felt much better than any of the others I'd had. After a few minutes a cracking looking koi about 6lb was in the net. Going in to the last hour now and bites seemed hard to come by, with another try on both pole lines being fruitless. I decided to up the bait by hand in the margin swim before trying double corn on the hair on the method. Again the change bought a quick response, with a pure silver ghostie about 4lb joining his orange, black and silver mate in the net! However after this the swim seemed devoid of life, so with 40 minutes to go I decided to stick it out in the margins.

I was getting liners in the margins and with twenty minutes to go the increase in bait worked as a bite on pellet saw me land by far the biggest fish from the margins, a common of about 6lb. Unfortunately I couldn't add to it, with the last spell of the match producing just one missed bite.

When the scales got to me 51lb 12 oz was the top weight on my lake, I knew I didn't have that, but I was closer to it than I thought with my fish going 50lb 10oz. I was thinking that the lost fish had cost me a lake win when the last angler to weigh on the lake had 84lb 12oz. Lake third it was then! Back in the car park everyone was trying to work out who'd won (while the organiser was) and it seemed that me and my partner (who was 4th on the other lake) were tied on points with another pair for first. No problem, as we had a better weight. When the result was read out both pairs were read out as first- tied on points, the weight difference apparently didn't matter and we split 1st and second! A bit of a bummer as we were done out of third last year on weight after tying on points! I wasn't the only one a bit miffed by this too! Still, at least I caught some fish on what must have been the coldest day in May I've ever fished. We were even treated to another hail shower in the car park after!

Deja Vu!

Apologies for the lack of of picture, I've just spent ages trying to work out why my phone won't find the memory card, but for some reason it won't work! Not that I really need it anyway, as just in case you didn't get it from the title, I went and put my hand in the bag and come out with the exact same peg as last week. I wasn't a happy bunny!

Having lost the frosts for two days I was hoping for some better sport, until that number 49 came out in my hand again! I have to admit I put my box down on the peg and sat for ten minutes and contemplated going to pleasure fish on lake 1 instead. I eventually decided to have a crack at it again, and then, just to make things worse, it started to tip it down!

I approached the peg much in the same way as last week- three rigs, one for the island, one for the near side of the ledge, and a margin rig. The only difference is that the margin and track rigs had smaller hooks than last week, while the margin rig was on .16 line, like the others. I was going to fish it much more negatively, trying to eek out a few fish!

The far bank got just a dozen pellets, while the track had half a dozen grains of corn and a small pinch of hemp. The margin got the same, plus a small amount of meat. I did manage about twenty minutes across on pellet (giving me some optimism of some carp being present) before the bait robbing micro roach moved in.

To cut a long and pretty boring story short, up until the last hour nobody near me had caught any fish other than odd tiny roach! The most interesting part of the day was that my partner for the pairs match next Monday (for the May bank holiday pairs match) were trying to work out who's going to draw, as he was next peg along! We both seem to have spent a lot of time lately in that cluster of pegs catching not a lot on lake 2!

In the end, just as I was toying with packing up early (the two pegs to my right had!) odd fish started to come along the edge. Just odd liners to start, then I had two late fish, one on corn and one on meat. Reasonable stamp fish, with the pair probably about 9-10lb between the two of them. I was a bit miffed that I didn't get a double figure ghostie- I watched it come along the edge feeding, it went head down right on my bait and the instant bite gave me a 5lb common! It must have robbed it out of the ghosties mouth!

The lake fished hard again, with 35lb winning, and two 20lb+ weights making the rest of the frame. A few people had two carp and didn't bother to weigh (only 4 from 21 did) so it wasn't at it's best it's fair to say!

As I said earlier, next week is the bank holiday pairs, with no match on the Sunday. I just hope I can draw better!

Sunday 18th April

While the weather seems to have perked up now in the day the ice still seems a little reluctant to leave us totally! Jack frost had visited a couple of time in the last few days, leaving us with what I've found to be some of the worst conditions to fish in; bright, warm days and frosty nights. Coupled with quite high air pressure I wasn't expecting a great days fishing, especially coupled with a full house as there is an upcoming Clubman Supercup round on the venue.

At the draw I really wanted a peg with a bit of cover in it, as I was sure the fish would be wanting to move out of the way. What I actually got was a peg that's in an area I've never drawn before! Peg 49 is the first peg down one arm of the island, and is the shallowest part of the lake. While it has no recent form I did think the shallow nature (I didn't realise how shallow it was mind!) may work to my advantage, as it would warm up quicker. What did then put the mockers on it was that it was drawn as the second golden peg- a sure curse!

First task was to have a bit of a plumb round- firstly in the margins as there was an inflow pipe tricking water in to the right. It was very shallow here, less than a foot and I came away from it a touch, fishing just past it and about four foot out, in about two and a half foot of water. This is where I found out how shallow it was, as when I swung the margin rig (just over a meter long as I was plumbing) I found I could just touch the bottom with it down the middle! I also used the same margin rig for the left margin. Here I had a slight point away from me and at 5m I was fishing in the edge, tight to the grass, at an angle of about 11 O'clock. The margin rig was on pink Middy Hollow elastic (similar to black hydro or Preston 15h) for no reason other than I've had it ages and decided to use it! Line was .16 to an 18 Fox Series 2. My track line was at about five and a half meters (taking it just past the point but angled to my right away from it) This was on the same hook and line as the margin rig, using a .2gr diamond bodied handmade float. Lakky on this was a soft 14 latex. Lastly I had a rig up for the island. After much plumbing in the end I plumped for an area just in to the small bay opposite. Nice and easy at just over 13m, it was about 16in deep (in the sun all day, and with the colour I thought I'd get away with it) Again this was on .16 line, lakky was Preston 15h with a size 20 Fox Series 2 hook. Float was a small Preston Durafloat, pattern number I can't remember! Quite positive gear really, but when the area produces it tends to be bigger fish. Plus, no point fishing for second on a golden peg!

On the whistle I fed a decent pinch of 4mm pellet across, where as the track line got about a dozen grains of corn and a pinch of hemp. The right margin got half a pot of hemp and 6mm cubes of meat, while the left (on the point) would just get a few pellets and grains of corn flicked on it by hand. The first two drops across were on a 4mm expander, but this just got shredded instantly by tiny fish; not a good sign! In fact, there were very few signs of carp in the area. I gave the far line perhaps half an hour on corn, getting odd knocks off roach. I was flicking pellets across in two's and three's, hoping the noise would attract a carp, but all that seemed to be in the area were tiny roach.

The next hour was the same on whatever line I tried. I was bite less on corn where as meat or pellet would be stripped off by tiny roach, occasionally leaving one of about half an ounce hanging! As midday came odd carp started to cruise about, bringing a bit of optimism to those of us in the area- five of us in a line had only odd tiny roach between us. On the half way mark I took what turned out to be my only chance of a carp. While fishing down the track on meat a common of about 6lb was taking bits out of the drifting surface scum around my float. I dangled the meat just in front of his nose and he took it! After a lively scrap he was in the net- the only carp caught (apart from one about 2oz) for about six pegs to my right! The angler to my left, on the end of the island, had just one carp too. I don't think any of us there did anything wrong- they just weren't there! I never had a liner all day and in the last 90 minutes I never saw a carp cruise. Some days you just know your flogging a dead horse! I did up the feed a lot in the last hour, but in my heart of hearts I just knew that there were no carp there.

As a whole the lake fished hard (as did most of the country from the results I've seen) with two 26lb weights being first and second- taken from pegs with good cover in them. I think there was a 24lb weight too, as we were all beaten by the conditions. Still, as the days edge past the summer gets ever closer, and so (hopefully!) does some good fishing!

Winter League, Final Round

I have to say I was quite looking forward to the last round of the winter league. I'd walked round before the match and the colour had increased in the water and in most areas there seemed to be a few fish moving. Going in to this match the leader couldn't be caught but second place could be- they were five points ahead of me on equal third but with the worst results being dropped after I had an advantage, as my worst result was nil points!

I took a late place in the draw queue and was getting a bit worried as all the fancied pegs seemed to be going. Peg five was the one I fancied the most, but that was gone! When my hand went in to the bag I was quite happy when peg 29 came out, a decent peg all year round. I also had the league leader (winner!) on the next peg, to add extra encouragement to do well.

Plan for the day was four pole rigs, two for the far bank, one for on the near ledge and a margin rig. It's a fair reach over, about 17m to get in to the shallower water I thought I'd need to be in. The first rig was for in three feet of water, keeping my options open to go that touch tighter later. This was on .14 line to a 20 Fox series 2, using a .2gr Garbolino DC5 and on Preston 15h elastic. The second rig was a shallow rig, set at 2ft deep. Terminal gear was .14 line to a 16 B611 and a 4x10 PB2 float. Elastic was a softer Preston 13h. Third rig was for down the near ledge. This was on the same line as the other two, with a .4gr diamond bodied float in 6ft of water. Hook was again a 20 Fox series 2 and lakky was a 12 latex. Last rig was for my right margin. This was practically identical to the far bank rig. Bait was 4mm expander's, corn and caster with some hemp, micro pellets and a small amount of crumb. I also had some meat which I thought may come in to play later.

On the whistle I fed a small pinch of micros and three grains of corn across, the same but with a pinch of hemp in the edge and a dozen grains of corn on the ledge. I slipped a grain of corn on and went across. It didn't take long to get a bite, I reckon I'd been in no more than twenty seconds when the float buried, but I missed it! I had a liner not long after and my next bite came after about six or seven minutes. This saw me attached to a decent fish and even on the stronger lakky than of late a fish of about 4lb gave a good account of it's self before being netted. Next drop didn't bring much, so I decided to re feed with a pinch of micros and two grains of corn. This bought a near instant bite but after a few seconds this fish came off. This was the start of a frustrating twenty minute spell where I hooked two more fish and lost them both. I'm sure two of them weren't foul hooked too. After this spell the fish seemed to fade off, but nobody else I could see had caught.

Going in to the next hour I was feeding a few micros and an odd grain of corn by toss-pot as each lost fish had come after feeding, and when I didn't feed I didn't get a bite! I decided to try pushing that but tighter over, pushing the half butt in and taking me in to water four inches shallower. It took about ten minutes to get any sign of fish and when the float did dink under it was met with a very solid resistance. After a few minutes of the fish sluggishly trying to explore the peg to my right a ghostie around the 10lb mark surfaced and after a short while longer it met the landing net. Definitely one worth waiting for! I topped up after this but no more fish followed so I left the line and had a quick try on the the other two, but with no response.

On the two hour mark I decided to try a 6mm cube of meat across. I cursed as I missed a bite almost instantly, but the next drop was met with a bite that produced a perch of an ounce! Hard work at 17m+! I was surprised at how slow it was, as at this point I'd yet to see anyone else catch a carp. I had another quick try on the track and the margin lines (the margin was getting small pot's of bait every 40 Min's, while I was just flicking corn by hand to the track line) but neither gave a bite. With the half way mark passing I decided to try something different with the feeding, deciding to still feed pellet and odd grains of corn via toss-pot but to top it off with ground bait.

I was surprised at how quick the response came, with a bite coming on the first drop trying it. A common of about 3lb was followed next drop by a mental (but cracking looking!) ghostie of about 2lb. The next drop gave what looked to me every bit an F1 of about a pound and a half. While no F1's have been stocked in to the lake there are both carp (obviously!) and crucians so it could quite possibly be a naturally occurring hybrid of the two. After the flurry of fish the swim faded somewhat. The next hour produced two more fish about 3lb a piece, both to corn on the deck. Strangely I was getting no liners, just the odd bite out of the blue. I was having odd drops down the peg, to the small point on the island visible in the pic, trying both on the deck and shallow but nothing happened.

Going in to the last hour I was comfortably ahead of those around me but was concerned that the swim had faded and people were starting to catch odd fish. I'd given up on the other two lines as I'd not had a bite off either and the fish I had seen caught were from across. I did prick a fish down the peg trying caster so I fed a few casters via toss-pot and then, as I laid the rig in I had the pole yanked in to the water summer bite style! I had the fish right to the net when the hook pulled! I couldn't get another bite there so I went back to the original line. This produced another carp of about 4lb with half an hour to go, again on corn. With just over ten minutes to go a gust of wind caught the pole (there had been a good few during the day) and after having the pole swung round I found myself stuck up the far bank! One trashed rig later I decided to have the last few minutes on the shallow rig and caster. This gave me another fish with five minutes to go, a crucian/brown goldfish of about a pound and a half, but I didn't have time for another.

Listening to the after match chat it looked as though I'd finish second as my favoured pre match peg (number 5) had walked the match, putting 14 carp on the scales for 57lb. A few other decent weights had been put on the scales, with 28lb being the next weight. My bits net went 3lb exactly and my seven carp went 31lb 6oz, which was enough for second with that 28lb being 3rd.

My good result was enough to push me up in to second overall in the final standings- not a bad result I think, although I had three framing weights on lake 1 two of my three draws on lake 2 were (on the day) terrible. In the end I was four points behind first, and two ahead of third. I was pleased with the day- I had to work hard for my fish and really after the third round second was about the best achievable really barring a miracle. I must have got something right as the pegs either side didn't catch a carp! With the winter league out of the way now, I'm looking forward to a bit of summer bagging now!

A Good Friday?

An early blog this week- with the long Easter weekend I decided to fish on the Friday this week. With the weather having turned a bit colder during the week I wasn't sure where I wanted to draw really, although walking round before hand I liked the look of peg 46. The margins on the peg can be good with a nice clean bank with two and a half foot of water to fish in tight to the bank. It also had the wind behind it and with rain forecast later it would at least be comfortable. Why am I talking about it? because I actually drew it! I couldn't do that in the winter league could I!

First task was a rig for the open water at about 12m. This was a .4gr diamond bodied pattern in about six and a half foot of water. This would also double for the 5m line where it was just 3in shallower. Line was .14 dia direct to a 16 B611, lakky was a 12 latex. I also had a shallow rig up for half depth, a 4x12 PB2 with the same hook and line but on a 13h lakky. The third rig up was a margin rig for the left margin. In about two and a half foot of water float was a 4x12 Somo with the same hook and line as the other two rigs and on Preston 13h lakky too. Lastly, I also put up a bomb rod to try past the pole line to start with.

On the whistle the long line got three grains of corn and a pinch of hemp, while the margin had the same but with a few 3mm pellets mixed in too. The 5m line would just receive corn flicked in by hand. First cast was on the bomb, about three meters past the pole line and further to the right. With nothing on the first cast on double corn the next two casts had single corn with a small pellet cone. With not a nudge approaching the 4o minute mark it was time to try the pole line. A single grain of corn went out to the 12m line, but after five minutes with no joy I decided to put a small toss-pot on and try trickling some bait in to stir a response. After two more drops and nudging the hour mark I was just debating trying the bomb again when I had my first bite. After a good tussle a common of about 6lb was in the net so I gave it another quarter of an hour, topping up after that fish but with no more signs of life.

I decided to top up the margin line before having a chuck on the bomb. I was just debating my options when the rod steadily pulled round but it was obvious it wasn't a carp and a crucian of about a pound and a quarter was soon on the net. With that I decided to give it a bit longer but at the hour and a half mark and no more bites it was back on to the long line. A bite (again on single corn) wasn't long in coming and a small common of about 2lb was quickly in the net. I topped up with two grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp and perhaps five minutes later my next bite produced a lively 3lb ghostie. After this the indications I had were very finicky so I topped up with a pinch of hemp and three grains of corn and went back on the bomb, although this produced nothing.

As the half way mark came others started to catch too, including the angler opposite netting a right lump that looked comfortably double figures. The rain started and it seemed to stop indications on the longer line. I gave the 12m line a decent pinch of hemp and half a dozen grains of corn and dropped in on the 5m line, which I had been steadily flicking grains of corn on to in ones and twos every few minutes. A liner after a few minutes was followed by a proper bite and carp number four was soon in the net- a common about 3lb. No more bites followed so I cupped in four grains of corn on it and had a drop in the margins. A few silly bites on corn told me that roach rather than carp were in residence, and trying double maggot confirmed it as a roach of about 1oz was the result.

Back out on the long line and the rest and extra grub had the desired effect as indications soon turned in to a proper bite and a mirror of about 3lb was in the net. The wind picked up and I had to lower all the shot on the rig to stabilise it a bit more. Not too long after and another bite gave me another 3lb common. A missed bite next drop followed by a decrease in indications led me to top up the swim again and drop back in on the 5m line. With nothing to show there I tried the margins again but just the roach knocks again led me back out to the 12m line. With silly indications resulting there I decided to stop feeding the hemp. With just a missed bite to show after another 15 minutes I came back on to the 5m and a chunky 4lb common was the result, but again no more bites followed.

Dropping back out long and cutting out the hemp seemed to have the effect as a common about two and a half pound was in the net. Next drop in and an instant bite again saw me attached to another carp which inexplicably came off half way in. I dropped in four grains of corn and left the line alone for five minutes, trying the 5m line but with no joy. Back out long and another bite saw me attached to another carp, and half way back that one came off too! I didn't even check the hook, cutting it off and changing it after dropping in a few grains of corn again. Predictably though, the two lost fish had seen the end of the action and I had to sit and watch others catching while whatever I tried I couldn't buy a bite, not even past the catching area.

The last hour passed uneventfully, apart from roach knocks in the margins. With the last ten minutes remaining I decided that the 5m line was the best bet for a fish and decided to sit on it. With a few minutes to go it seemed a good choice as carp number 9 resulted, another common of about 3lb but I didn't have time for another.

Packing away it looked pretty close between me and three others I could see, and I just had a feeling that those lost fish would cost me. As the third to weigh in I was comfortably first when my fish totalled 34lb 3oz. One of the island pegs produced a 31lb weight then the scales got round to the peg's I'd been watching. The first one to weigh in narrowly pipped me plonking 34lb 8oz on the scales! I knew it! The other two put 32lb and 29lb on to the scales and while I'd finished second the lost fish had cost me a win! I shan't grumble too much mind- I enjoyed the day working for bites, and it was nice to catch a few fish after such a long tough winter. I was surprised that the margins never really went, but nobody really caught in the edge this week (they did last week) I can only guess the two cold days and a frost in the days before had just taken enough of a toll on the water temperature to stop them.

Next Sunday sees the last round of the winter league, on lake one this time. After a bad start I'm in joint third so hopefully I'll be able to get a good result and get a respectable final placing. I'll let you know next week!

Sunday 27th March (W/L Rd 5)

I was hoping for a change in draw bag fortune in the last winter league match on Lake Two, and while I didn't draw what had been the area's that had been 'hot' in the last few matches I was much happier with my draw. Peg 42 is a decent peg, perhaps not a flier but it's consistent and I did fancy that it would be good for a few fish. It's also the shortest walk on the lake!

After setting my box I sat for a minute to see what the wind was doing, it was quite gusty but by and large it was missing my peg. I had three rigs up for the pole. The first rig was for 13m out to the open water in about 5ft of water. This rig was a 4x14 chianti on .14 line to a 16 B611 and on a 12 latex, this would also double up as a throw-away line at 5m which I would just loose feed by hand. I also had a shallow rig up, set at half depth. Same hook and line as before but with a 4x10 PB2 float and grey hydro. Last rig up was for the margins, both left and right (I had an overhanging bush to my left and some rushes to my right). This rig was again on the same line and hook as before, using Preston 13h lakky. The float was a doctored Preston Somo (with a plastic tip) in about 3ft of water. Lastly, I also set up a bomb rod to start on beyond the pole line.

On the whistle I fed the 13m line with a pinch of hemp and three grains of corn, while the throw-away 5m line got half a dozen grains of corn by cup to kick it off. The left margin got a pinch of hemp and micro pellet plus three bits of corn while I elected to just flick bait by hand to the right margin. I baited the hair up with double corn and flicked the bomb about 16m out. It didn't take long for the two anglers to my right to catch on the tip (in the open water, but wider) I hadn't had a touch so ten minutes later I re-cast slightly to the left. The plan was to give it 20-25 minutes on the bomb and if I hadn't had a bite give it a chuck on the pellet cone to put some bait out. I had a slight flicker on the tip but nothing else so the next chuck went out with a single grain of corn and a pellet cone of 3mm Dynamite green pellets, using the smallest Guru cone. Just as I was considering bringing it in the tip dropped slack and then pulled round. It was obviously not a big fish but I was off the mark and a welcome 2lb common was soon in the net. I gave it two more drops on the cone and corn but nothing more followed.

I had my first drop in on the 13m line nearing the hour mark, and by this point the wind had started to pick up. After a few minutes fighting the wind the float dinked under and a crucian of about a pound and a quarter was quickly in the net. I decided to top the swim up with just two grains of corn after but no more bites followed, so I topped up the left margin with a pinch of bait (I was still flicking odd grains of corn to the 5m line, plus casters to the right margin) before going back on the bomb.

I had two fruitless casts on the bomb and had noticed odd fish cruising in the open water so, wind allowing, I started catapulting a few casters over the 13m line. I went back over the long line on the deck and after a few minutes I had a liner so I decided to try shallow, but the wind had changed now and was making good presentation awkward, even on the deck. I went back on the bomb while I set up heavier rigs for the pole, changing the shallow rig for a slightly heavier float with a longer line and the deck rig for a more stable pattern. With no joy on the tip I had a quick try in both the margins but had no joy from either. Going back out long gave no joy, either on the deck or up.

With two hours to go I decided to try the 5m line. I put a single grain of corn on, flicked two grains out and dropped the rig in. The float had been in no longer than thirty seconds when it buried, taking me totally by surprise and I missed it! I dropped the float back down the same hole and it hadn't been in too long before the float shot under again. I didn't miss this one and soon a small common of about 2lb was in the net. I tried the same again but it didn't work and no more bites followed so I went back over the long line. I had been on the line for perhaps twenty minutes when I had a bite on the deck and missed it. Nothing followed so I fed 2 grains of corn and a tiny pinch of hemp over the line. Not long after the float went again but as I was shipping in the very sluggish fish came off, and I have to admit I turned the air somewhat blue! I topped the line up again and a response was not long in coming and soon a mirror a touch bigger than the other two carp was in the net. I followed the same pattern and it didn't take long before another carp, perhaps nudging 3lb was in the net.

I have to admit I was harbouring thoughts of a good last hour and a quarter when, as soon as the fish arrived they were gone. The only difference I can think off was that the sun had come out, but even the cruising fish had gone. The last hour and a bit passed un-eventfully. I did up the feed in an attempt to bring the fish back but I never had any joy, the rest of the match passing without a bite. I could see the pegs that caught last week catching steadily though....

With my draw coming with scales duty people had to wait until I'd packed away! My fish went 12lb and an ounce, which at the end of the day was good enough for sixth. With the league leader winning the match with 35lb the title is already gone. The leagues second placed angler was third on the day (with 23lb, 33lb was second and 21lb 4th) but the other people above me were already out of the running so a quick look at the board means I may be up to joint third so after a bad start a respectable placing is still up for grabs in the last match in two weeks time.

With the bank holiday weekend coming up I'm not entirely sure when I'll be out over the weekend, although Friday looks to be a decent bet at the moment!

Sunday March 21st

Spring seems to finally have sprung at last, bringing out a few extra anglers (the solar powered ones!), so I have to admit with very near a full house it's fair to say there were a few pegs in the bag that I didn't want! True to form (on lake two anyway) my drawing arm let me down and I again found myself on a peg I didn't want. In fact, it's my least favourite peg on the whole lake!

Peg 53 is the narrowest of the island pegs and does occasionally throw up a big margin weight as it's in a corner - but always in late summer! You can touch the island with 13m of pole on the peg, and I had two rigs up to fish towards the island. The first was at about 12m in 3ft of water while the second was at two foot which I could push tighter over but also use shallow over the other lines. These rigs were both on .12 line with a 4x12 chianti on the deeper rig and a 4x10 PB2 on the shallow rig. A 16 B611 finished both rigs with Preston 13h elastic on the deeper rig and a slightly softer grey hydro on the other. A third rigs was set up to fish down the track. The peg gets slightly shallower to the left so the rig was at 10m at a slight angle to the right where there was a slight kink in the bottom. As far as the track goes it's shallow, even for the island pegs too with about 4ft of water the most I could find. Float was a 4x14 chianti with the same hook and line as the last rigs but using a 12 latex elastic. Last up was a margin rig for in to the corner, under some marginal tree cover. This was at 10m to my right in 3ft of water. Line was slightly stronger .14 dia but with the same hook as the other rigs. Lakky was Preston 13h. Bait-wise I had the usual maggot, caster, corn and hemp but also some micro pellet and some 4mm expanders.

On the whistle the far line got a small pinch of pellet and a few casters, the track line a small pinch of hemp and three grains of corn while the margin had a small pinch of hemp, pellet and a few grains of corn. Occasional fish could be seen cruising, which raised some slight hopes although it has to be said that me and the other angler who had drawn in the same area as last time (where we struggled on the last winter league on this lake) weren't exactly confident! And we were right as an hour and a half in four of us in a line were all bite less, although the anglers the other side of the island (in the sun) were all catching! Fortunately I couldn't see them but those that could were sick of watching them!

Eventually, two hours in I managed to catch a fish, albeit just a tiny roach on maggot on the shallowest rig pushed tight over. I could get get odd bites on maggot or caster on the shallowest rig, but was missing most of them, probably due to the size of the fish. I couldn't get a bite off either of the two other lines or on the deepest island rig. Odd carp were cruising about but most definitely not feeding.

With an hour and a half to go I did catch a carp of about 3lb, funnily enough they must have came up through the two pegs to my right as we all caught a carp in order, about the same time distance apart! I did foul hook and lose one about ten minutes later and that was about it, apart from odd roach on maggot. I did actually get a bite on double maggot in the margin, which produced a minnow! I honestly can't remember the last time I caught one of those...

After the whistle I tipped back and walked round to see how those that had been on fish had caught, and after walking past those of us that struggled it was noticeably warmer- I'd sat in a fleece all day, and even just after few seconds there I was roasting, so it's no wonder that the fish there were more inclined to eat! As per the last time the top four were all in a line with 44lb winning, a low 30lb weight second and two very close 28lb weights after that. Guess that shows that the fish that are willing to eat are still very close together . That said I did fish it wrong, wasting the first half of the match trying to make pellet, corn or caster work. At least three of the top four caught on maggot and the carp I had was on maggot too. I think had I fished the whole match on maggot, on the shallowest rig I may have had another carp or two(although the bits were a pain). There was more movement early on while I had a bit of the sun, that's for certain. As for the winter league next week, I just hope the draw bag is a bit kinder to me!