Out Of Action For A Bit!

As it say's I won't be on the bank for a few weeks (and it's killing me!), but hopefully I'll be out on the bank before the winter sets in properly.

Sunday September 25th

Hmm, the weather seems a bit confused now, it really doesn't seem to know if it's summer or autumn!

Walking round the lake before the draw and I wanted a peg round the sides or the back of the lake (from 13 round to 33), although lately I always seem to draw along the front. When I went in the bag pretty much all the pegs on the front of the lake had gone, so my hand goes in and out comes peg 5! Still, at least I didn't have to walk far.

In all honesty, while I didn't want a draw round the front of the lake (it's not the form area), if I had to choose one swim in that area in warmer weather it would be peg 5. It couldn't be any worse than the last time I drew it anyway, when I had just one perch off it in the second round of the winter league.

The rigs that went up were pretty standard really - a small Nick Gilbert XTM on .17 to .15 for across, finished with an 18 Fox Series 2 hook and matched to Preston 15h lakky. I was very pleased when I managed to find about 18in of water almost right against the bank, which is a non-existance on most pegs due to the low water level at the moment. Fishing tight to the bank stops the liners from fish swimming behind your float. It also meant that if I wanted to feed with the catty any over-shot the pellets would either be right up the bank out of the way (feeding the moorhen) or would drop off the steep bank onto my float! The other rigs up were a .4gr Nick Gilbert Decker for fishing the 2+2 line. After catching late on this line not that far away last week I was quite confident of nabbing a fish or two on it. Terminal gear was the same as the far-bank rig, fished in about 6.5ft of water, but matched to Preston 13h lakky on a pull-bung. Last up was the margin rig. This was 0n .19 to .17 and a 16 Fox Series 2. Float was a .2gr DC5 fished in about 2ft of water, and was matched to purple Hydro. If fish show on this line they're animals!

On the whistle the far line was fed with a small pinch of pellets and some loose crumb, while the 2+2 line and the margins had half a pot of bait each, a mixture of hemp and corn with a small amount of meat. Going across with a 6mm expander on the hook it was about ten minutes before I started to get any signs, and I'm sure they were from small fish. Given that I was getting small knocks I started to feed about ten pellets and a small pinch of crumb across to keep some bait going in. There were a few carp milling about so I was sure some would have a munch at some point.

It was on the 45 minute mark when I had my first bite. I was re-filling the toss-pot and could actually see a fish feeding across, so I lowered the bait slowly down and it was away instantly, and I tapped the bait out of the pot as the fish swam out of the swim. Isoon had a 4lb common in the net, and had a liner not long after that but then the swim faded away and I couldn't buy a bite.

On the hour and a half mark I decided on a try on the 2+2 line which I'd been feeding by hand but couldn't get a bite here. I decided to start introducing a few casters across, and tried half a worm. This got a bite strait away from a tiny perch, not really what I was after! At this point, of the five anglers I could see I'd only seen the angler on peg 39 (the end peg and the golden peg) hook a fish, although it turned out that they'd lost it. I tried caster across but couldn't get a bite off any line. I had one liner on the 2+2 line but nothing else ever developed, even though I could still see a few fish cruising.

It was on the half way mark of the match when I had a bite out of the blue, and this gave me a ghostie of about 4lb. I had another bite next drop which gave me a mirror of about 5lb. I'd started to feed with the catty but nothing more came after that brief flurry so I topped it up via the big pot, giving it about twenty pellets, the same of casters plus some loose crumb.

I was still dropping in on the other lines but couldn't raise a single indication from them. I fed a couple of pots of loose crumb down the edge, as I figured I had nothing to loose. Plugging away across I could get an odd liner so I spent most of my time here as at least odd fish seemed to be present.

With just over an hour to go I tried half a worm across and had a bite not long after lowering it in, with the resulting fish a common of about 6lb. The next drop produced another bite to the worm, with this fish a touch bigger at around 7lb. No bites followed next drop so I topped up with the big cup again but the next bite saw me bump a fish. I thought I'd got away with it when I had a 3lb ghostie soon after but my thoughts of a last hour bonanza were done with and I had no more indications until the last few minutes of the match when the fish came back but I didn't have enough time to nab one.

For the second week in a row I was on the scales so everyone had to wait while I packed away, although it was apparent there were a few DNW's. Peg 31 was supposed to have caught a few, but depending on who you listened to it varied from 6-9 carp, and they're not always the most honest at saying what they have either!

With me the first to weigh in (the angler on the peg to my right blanked, as did the one to my left) my fish totalled 29lb 4oz. Peg 11 was the next to put anything of note on the scales, with 11lb of pasties and one 8lb'er which turned out enough for second, pipping peg 15 by just a few ounces. A few double figure weights followed, but also a few DNW's and peg 31 then put a weight of just over 18lb on the scales, but was less than what peg 15 had so had to be content with 4th. The last to weigh in was peg 37 who put one fish of 11lb 4oz on the scales, probably one of the most perfect commons you'll ever see.

So, a win from an area I didn't want wasn't bad on what turned out to be a hard day for all on the new lake. Next weeks open is back on the old lake, and a club booking on that lake was won with 104lb so it's fair to say most are looking forward to being back on there!

Sunday 18th September

First off all I'll apologise for the lack of picture, I meant to take it after the match but totally forgot until after I'd loaded up the barrow and I wasn't taking it all off to get to my camera!

I was a bit bemused with my peg when number 9 came out, it's seldom used and in actual fact I had to rummage to find it as it was just a tiny gap in the bankside vegetation! It's not now, after I spent about twenty minutes of frantic chopping with secateurs!

It's one of the few pegs on the lake where you can't reach the island with the pole which meant a feeder chuck to the island (about 20m). The far bank vegetation was a bit fun until I got my eye in (think it was four months since the tip rod last came out!) I fished a small method on this line, and then set up two pole rigs - one for 11m to my left in the margin and a rig for fishing 2+2. I'm pretty sure you know what the rigs were by now!

I was a touch late starting after my little Sunday morning gardening session, and my first few chucks were a bit wayward! On the thirty minute mark I had my first bite, falling to an 8mm S-Pellet. Not a massive fish at about 3lb. Next cast I nearly had the rod pulled out of my hand, but the fish came off and I'm sure it was foul-hooked by the way it was kiting. Then the next drop I had a little bubba of a carp of about 1lb. I was just harbouring thoughts of putting a run together when the swim totally died.

It was a while before any more signs, and I found myself glad of my little £3 Asda radio so I could listen to the football! I'd had fruitless tries on both pole line and was back on the feeder when the rod did it's best to jump in the lake while I was celebrating Luka Modric's opener for Spurs against Liverpool! Another followed not long after but my thoughts of a run of fish ended when I lost a fish that pulled off right at the net.

After that flurry the swim was totally dead unless I tried worm up the side where I could catch perch, but I was enjoying the football and wished I was watching that instead as Spurs thumped Liverpool 4-0 (sorry Carl!)

With just twenty-five minutes to go I missed my first bite on the 2+2 line. I didn't give it long as I could see a carp feeding up against the far bank, but a few chucks on the method gave me only liners. I went back on the pole on the 2+2 line for the last ten minutes and wished I'd stayed on it after that first bite as I added a brace of 4lb'ers to the net in the last few minutes! You'd think I'd know better than to chase the fish after the last couple of matches...

I was on the scales and the second to weight in, so for a brief while I was winning the match with 20lb 4oz! Peg 14 put just over 39lb on the scales and the chatter suggested it would be close between them and peg 27 who was on the golden peg. When we got round to them they put 38lb 12oz on the scales to just miss out! I managed to hold on to 3rd place until the very last person to weigh in put 21lb 6oz on the scales. I was kicking myself a bit, not just from those lost fish but also for coming off the pole for that spell near the end. Perhaps I should have caught a few more perch on worm in the edge......

Sunday September 11th

Well, Autumn has arrived with a bang! The wind has been blowing all night and I was woken at 6am by the rain lashing down. Not a good combination for a days fishing.

With another near sell out there were a couple of pegs I fancied as they had room; pegs 66 and 68, which also had no wind in them, and peg 44 which also has a large lilly bed in it that always holds carp. I really didn't want to draw round the island as all the pegs were in, although at least the ones round the back of the island were out of the worst of the wind.

When my hand went in the bag I was very disappointed that 55 came out- a seldom used peg with no form. I've sat on it before and am yet to catch a carp from it! Still, at least it was out of the worst of the wind.

The first rig up was for the bay in the island in front of me at about 15m. A Nick Gilbert XTM on .17 to .15 with an 18 Fox Series 2 matched to Preston 15 hollo was the gear for that line. Second up was a rig for the 2+2 line. In about 5ft of water I found that I could get away with a .3gr Nick Gilbert Decker. Terminal gear was the same as for the far bank rig but matched to black Hydro. Last up was a margin rig. At 5m to my left I had a nice marginal shelf with just over 2ft of water. A .2gr DC5 float was matched to .19 line to a .17 hook-link and a size 16 Fox Series 2 hook, with the rig matched to purple Hydro. Despite not having loads set up, I wasn't ready at the start for some reason, so I apologise for the hashed picture taken after the match just as it started to rain again!

When I started I fed the 2+2 line with half a pot of hemp and corn, while the margin got the same. I went across with a toss-pot on the pole and sprinkled a few 6mm pellets on the float. I carried on doing the same every few minutes but strangely even knocks from roach were few and far between. On the half hour mark I started topping the pot off with groundbait. This led to a few more knocks from small fish but no sign of any carp.

On the hour mark I dropped in on the 2+2 line. At this point the only fish I'd seen caught was a small roach. After about five minutes I had a bite on a single grain of corn which produced a carp of about 3oz, but no more bites followed. I went back across (but carried on feeding the closer lines by hand), and had a liner across but from a fish that was visibly cruising.

I had a while across but with no joy so I dropped back in on the 2+2 line, but had nothing here. I decided to have a brief look in the margin and had a bite pretty quick on double corn but from a pastie carp of about a pound. The activity was short lived and I couldn't get another bite here so I went back across.

On the half-way mark, and with no joy from either of the other two lines I dropped in the margin and promptly missed a bite on double corn. The next drop gave me another bite and I connected with this one, a carp of about 3lb, but again no more bites followed.

With just over an hour and a half to go nobody I could see had a 'proper' carp, so with nothing to lose I upped the feed in the edge, while giving the 2+2 line a quarter of a pot of hemp. I dropped in down the edge and hooked a fish that felt decent, but after twenty seconds or so the hook pulled. I topped the swim up and left it alone for a bit but I couldn't raise any signs from anywhere.

With an hour to go I lowered the rig in over the first bubbles I'd seen from the 2+2 line and as I lowered the float in it carried on going! Joy! I managed to do the same for about thirty-five minutes, taking my tally from one carp up to nine. A mixture of sizes from 2lb up to about 5lb but I wasn't concerned, the float was going under and I never missed one!

After the fast run the bites slowed a bit, and my attention was taken by some large fish grubbing in the edge. I lowered my margin rig in and it buried quickly, followed by lots of elastic! What looked to be a big ghostie roared around, and while it didn't look foul-hooked the lack of control suggested it wasn't hooked in the mouth. I'll never know for certain as after two or three minutes the hook pulled. The next drop down the edge the float goes, and my lift is met by a 4lb common leaping clear of the water and through the marginal brambles, leaving me hanging up the marginal cover! That was the last action in the margins but I managed one more carp off the 2+2 line.

At the end of the match I'd only seen two other carp caught so was pleased with how I'd plugged away and caught a few. When the scales came round it seemed that while peg 44 had bagged up, putting a level 80lb on the scales, the only other peg to have caught well was 66. My fish totalled 35lb 6oz and was good enough to scrape in to third place behind a near 50lb weight from peg 66, a result far beyond what I thought I could manage.

I believe next week is on the new lake, so it's a change of scenery!

Sunday 4th September

With the two days before today being nice and warm I was quite optimistic that the lake would fish well, and the weather this morning was even nice with it being mild, overcast and with a slight breeze... looking good!

Walking round before hand I didn't really know where I wanted to draw, apart from 64 that is - I fancied a change of scenery! Thankfully, when I dipped my hand in to the bag that number was gone but I managed to get the same two numbers on my ticket, with 46 coming out in my hand. I was pretty happy with that!

There were a few fish cruising about so I set up two shallow rigs for long, one for between 1-2ft and the other for less than that. My 2+2 line was only about two inches shallower than it was long, so I could use that for trying on the deck here. That rig was a .3gr NG Decker on .17 to .15 and an 18 Fox Series 2 in about 6ft of water. Terminal gear was the same for the two shallow rigs and lakky on all was Preston 15h. Last up was a margin rig for 6m to my right along the bare bank. In about 2ft of water the rig was a .2gr DC5 on .19 line to a .17 hook-link and a size 16 Fox Series 2. Lakky was purple Hydro.

On the whistle the 2+2 line had half a pot of hemp and corn, while I decided on a positive attack for the margin giving it a whole pot of the same. I started on the deeper of the shallow rigs and started pinging a few pellets in. I didn't expect to bag off this line, I was more hoping to get a few early mug fish before the other two lines hopefully came on. An odd fish started to look a little interested and I came up on to the shallowest rig. After about forty minutes I briefly hooked a fish but I'm not sure if it had just rolled in to the line.

On the hour mark without a fish I decided on a quick try on the other lines (I'd topped up the 2+2 line by hand, while I carried on attacking the margin with half a pot every half hour). I had no signs on the deep line so I baited the margin rig with double corn. It didn't take long for the float to vanish and I was in to my first fish.... which then came off! Not the best start, and with no more indications I topped it up and left it alone.

I had a brief try on the shallow line again, but now the pellet was getting knocked by roach so I gave that up and came back on the 2+2 line. I think by this point practically everyone I could see had caught, and peg 66 had five or six carp. With no joy I rotated between the two lines and it was just after the two hour mark when I had my first bite on the 2+2 line, which I missed! I didn't miss the next two mind and was off the mark, albeit with two small fish for about 4lb. The third came after stopping to top-up the margin line and was probably bigger than the other two put together! However, just as I was thinking of lining up a few fish the line died on me.

Dropping back in the edge I was pleased to get a bite strait away and from a decent fish too, a common of about 5lb. By now it started to rain, just steadily at first before increasing to a monsoon! I found that instead of toss-potting it was better to feed half a cup of corn and catch two fish before feeding again. Despite the rain (and a very noisy F15 jet doing aerobatics over the top for the Duxford display) I was putting a steady run of fish together. Bites were by no means fast but I was catching up on everyone I could see. I had to fish double corn to get a bite (and I was missing odd ones) and the one bite I had on a 10mm cube of meat gave me a mirror of about 1oz!

With an hour and a half to go I was on fifteen carp, with a few decent fish up to 7lb in the net too. Then the rain stopped, the sun came out and the wind dropped and I couldn't buy a bite! Fish would still come in down the edge, but they wouldn't settle properly. A spell on the 2+2 line gave me one small carp of about 2lb, but it seemed that everyone had stopped catching! I guessed that the only person I could see now with more fish was peg 70 opposite, but they looked smaller.

The last hour was hard work, I had one more fish down the edge of about 7lb again, but after that the only line I could get a bite off was an occasional one well away from the feed on the 2+2 line, and they were small fish of about 2lb each. I finished the match on nineteen carp, although perhaps I could have had an extra fish or two had I not kept chasing the odd fish that came in the edge to feed, but they always melted away when you put the pole near them!

I was the third person to weigh in, and when the scales got to me the two weights were 53lb 8oz and 49lb 12oz. My fish went just over 74lb, while those coming back from round the island were only admitting to four or five fish each. I carried on packing away (I was doing it slowly and leaving stuff in the sun behind my peg to dry!) and walked up just as the last angler weighed in. I was right about my fish being bigger than peg 70's as theirs totalled 54lb 3oz, leaving me clear at the top! The rest of the weights were close mind, and a few people were cursing lost fish who'd just missed out.

I think next week is back on the same lake again, so here's to hoping it keeps in good form and the fish are after a good feed up before the winter, which doesn't seem so far away now....

August 29th, Bank Holiday Monday

Isn't it frightening to think the next Bank Holiday will be Christmas! That said, the summer Bank Holiday seemed to have a very Autumnal feel to it which nearly resulted in me lifting my fleece in the morning, and I actually wish I had!

Walking around before-hand I fancied the pegs around the back of the island, as while the wind was pushing round there they were sheltered from the wind by the island and felt a couple of degrees warmer. Those that are eagle-eyed enough may notice that I didn't get my wish as I ended up on the same peg as last week! While I caught last week off if it's really not the best peg, plus I wasn't looking forward to the ants! I didn't notice it last week, but the buggers had a bit of a feast on me and on Monday morning I counted over forty bites up my legs, not nice! Tuck trousers into sock time it was...

I only put three rigs up for the day - a far bank rig, a margin rig and a rig for the 2+2 line. It didn't take me too long to set up as I still had the tippex marks on my top-kits from last week and the three rigs were quickly checked and re-plumbed, exactly right first time as the lake level hadn't changed! The far bank rig was a NG XTM float in 16in of water on .17 to .15 and an 18 Fox Series 2 matched with Preston 15h. The 2+2 rig was on the same terminal gear and the margin rig was the normal stepped up .19 to .17 and a 16 Fox Series 2 hook matched to purple Hydro.

On the whistle and after feeding the far line with a pinch of pellet the both the margin and the 2+2 line were fed with half a pot of hemp and corn. My reason for feeding the margin early when I hadn't last week was that I expected it would be my main catching line, and I hoped to get more than one good hour off it.

Going across on an 8mm banded pellet and the float did it's usual small fish dance before plinking under, and like last week my first carp was about 4oz. The wind was a touch awkward, although at times it would be flat calm at times it was also a job to hang on. Lifting and dropping the rig would invariably get knocks as the pellet settled but they were from smaller fish. Wondering if a 6mm banded pellet would be able to catch me a few of those smaller carp I gave it a go. This meant the float actually went under more, and when I eventually hit one of the bites the result was a bitterling!

I was flicking a few pellets across via the catty as and when the wind let me, but after about forty minutes all the indications faded so I took this as a signal to feed again with the pot. I still wasn't getting many knocks after and I was contemplating trying one of the other lines (both were getting a few grains of corn by hand) when a better bite saw me hook and land a proper carp, a dumpy mirror of a good 4lb. I plugged away on the line for a bit longer and did hook another carp about twenty minutes later, this one ripping the lakky from the pole while I was lowering the rig in! Unfortunately, for whatever reason this one pulled off as I lifted the top-kit to net it.

Indications seemed to stop totally after that across so just over the hour mark I re-fed across with the cup and dropped in on the 2+2 line. I lowered the rig in slowly, and as the float touched the water it was away - this is what I was after! Or it wasn't, as after a couple of seconds the hook pulled again. I checked the hooks on all the rigs after, they were all freshly made rigs but you never know, but they all seemed to be fine (they went in to my thumb okay!). I plugged away on the line for another ten minutes but indications were iffy so I left it alone, after topping both the close lines up with a bit of hemp and corn via the cup.

When I went back across the far line was getting increasingly awkward to fish in the wind that was swirling in the trees, and with very few signs of fish I didn't give it too long, a decision helped by the tail patterns in the margin! Double corn dropped in here and the float was away, and a decent ghostie mirror of about 5lb was in the net. I hooked another fish after that, only a few minutes later, but that one pulled off too! I was not best amused and changed the hook-links on all the rigs regardless.

I left the margin alone for a bit and dropped in over the 2+2. I was getting signs of life there and was tinkering with the shotting and depth trying to make some hittable bites. The tow was fairly strong against the wind and the majority of my knocks were coming about 2ft to the right of where I was feeding, but my first hittable bite came when I lowered the rig right down the feed, and resulted in a crucian of about a pound. I'd had to spread the bulk out a bit to get that, but when the wind really gave it some the rig wasn't quite right. The odd knocks carried on and I went back to fishing just the bulk of shot, about 10in from the hook. Lowering the float slowly in down the tow got me another bite, and this carp too was a decent stamp at about 4lb.

After that last fish I decided to rest the swim and gave it a decent amount of corn and no hemp. From what I could hear peg 57 was catching very well, although nobody else I could see had a lot more than I did. In the margin I was getting signs of fish and a switch to one large grain of corn got me a bite and another decent fish of about 4lb, followed not long after by it's twin. I then bumped a fish down the edge so I decided not to push it and went back on the other close line.

Feeding just the corn here seemed to have done the trick and I started to pick up a few fish off this line. I was having to work the rig a lot, and most of the bites were coming just after the rig had been lifted a foot clear of the water and slowly lowered back. They were coming in one's and two's either down the tow or directly over the feed but they wouldn't settle on one place. Still, by fishing a single grain of corn I was steadily plodding along with fish averaging about 3lb, and hopefully I still had a last hour margin bonanza too! I did try a cube of meat every now and then in an attempt to nick a bigger fish but I never had a bite doing this.

With an hour and twenty minutes to go I found myself with fifteen proper carp and starting my second net. I'd still been feeding the margin by hand, and as the last few bites had took a bit longer to come by I gambled on having a look down the edge. I could hear talk of peg 57 already having 100lb, so was hoping on a bag-up spell myself down the edge! I did manage to nick one decent carp down the edge, but I probably spent more time than it was worth to catch it after missing a few bites.

With an hour to go and I dropped back in on the 2+2 line, but while I'd left it alone I'd carried on feeding it by hand. Unfortunately, the fish seemed to have faded away rather than come back and it took a few minutes to get something going again. The first fish came by fishing the wrong side of the bait in the tow. I then got distracted by a tail in the margin so dropped in down there, but only had a missed bite to show for it. I managed to get another carp, again fishing the wrong side in the tow, but both those fish that side were smaller. I then again got distracted by a tail in the edge, but this time I nabbed the fish on a single grain of corn. This led to me staying on the margin and while I was getting an odd bite here I was missing them. Just as I was lifting out the float went and I had another carp, but I decided just to feed the swim and go back to the 2+2.

This line seemed to show a few more signs of life and with twenty minutes to go I should have got my head down here. The wind had settled a bit so I spread the bulk out and it seemed to work. The fish were smaller at about 3lb each but twice I decided to have a sneaky look down the edge for two or three minutes, but only managed to miss a bite while going for a margin lump to catch 57. I finished the match on twenty-two carp, the last ones taken from the 2+2 line.

I could see a few other people had caught, and most of them had double figures of numbers in the 40's (the pegs I could see on the opposite bank in the open water, the best area last week) I knew I had more than all of them. As I got packed away quickly I went and followed the scales. Peg 57 was admitting to thirty carp so it was clear they'd win as everyone who could see them said they had 100lb. I'd guesstimated mine to go about 75lb. While walking up the other bank it was noticeable that it was much warmer out of the worst of the wind, I'd sat with a coat on all day and would never have said I was warm. It was a mistake to have left my fleece at home!

When the scales got to peg 57 the top weight was 47lb. They comfortably topped that, but didn't have as much as everyone had been suggesting when they put 88lb 9oz on the scales. Hmm, this was closer than I thought! When I'd finished my weighs I'd totalled a level 83lb. In the end, those were the top three weights.

On getting walking back I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed at being so close, even though I'd worked very hard at the swim to get that weight I'd perhaps chased the margin fish a bit much and it'd cost me. The wasted times towards the end in the edge perhaps would have given me the extra weight, but then so could have one more lump from the margin! And then there was those couple of lost early fish.... so near yet so far and I have to admit it's overshadowed what's a fantastic weight off that swim.

Next week my blog will be back at around it's usual time, and hopefully starting September in style!

Sunday August 21st

No complaints about the weather today, it was pretty nice this morning! Not so happy about the spiders though, why do they always have to weave their webs at face height near the shed so I get a sleepy face full of web in the morning?

Walking round and the fish seemed to be all round the lake, but more so on the earlier numbers. On queuing at the draw-bag the person in front of me walked away from the bag as peg 64 was still in and they'd struggled off it last time. My hand goes in the bag and out comes 64.... I didn't really want it either! They promptly drew after me and got 66 and moaned about that too, some people are never happy!

I had four rigs up, two for across, one for 5m and one in the margins to my right at just 4m. The bankside vegetation doesn't allow you to fish much further on either side but the right was against some reeds and a touch shallower than the left. The far bank rigs were at about 13.5m, one to fish in 14in of water and one right up the bank in about 9in of water. Both were identical otherwise, being NG XTM's on .17 to .15 and an 18 Fox Series 2. Both were on Preston 15 hollo. The 5m rig was a .3gr NG Decker in about five and a half foot of water. Terminal gear was the same and the lakky was black Hydro. Last up was the margin rig. In about two and a half foot of water the float was a .2gr DC5 on .19 line to a .17 hook-link to a size 16 Series 2. Lakky was purple Hydro.

There were a few fish moving so I was confident I could catch a few fish. On the whistle the far line was fed with a palm-full of pellets, while the 5m line had half a pot of hemp and corn. I didn't feed the margin to start with as I could easily do that by hand at any point, plus experience told me that if that line goes it'll be very late - no point wasting bait feeding the small fish!

As per usual I went across on a 6mm expander which immediately gave me a roach. Not the usual micro one, but about 2oz - better, but not what I was after! A switch to a banded 8mm pellet and the float did it's dancing trick before vanishing. This gave me a little carp of about 4oz, so the right species, but the wrong size! I had two more carp of the same size in the next twenty minutes before I saw some movement very tight to the bank. I had been feeding pellets via a catty and some bait was going tight, so it was on with the very short rig!

Going tight over gave me a few knocks but no proper bites, and the tail I could see had gone as I shipped over. With no joy I decided to feed tight over with the pot and leave it, so a quarter of a pot of 6mm pellets went across before I had a quick try on the 5m line, but this gave no joy.

On trying up the island I had nothing there either, so I went back on to the original rig for a short while but all the happened here was the float danced around while the roach played head tennis with the pellet. When I shipped back in the pellet was round in the band!

On the hour and a half mark I decided I'd need the margin sooner rather than later. I could see those pegged on the opposite bank in the open water catching well. I'd had odd bubbles start on the 5m line and was fishing here on a cube of meat when I started to feed the margin by hand. I gave it one big handful of hemp, and just as I gave it one of corn the pole yanked as a carp hooked it's self! Off the mark with regards to proper carp, a lively ghostie mirror of about 5lb was the culpret.

Despite that one carp I couldn't raise any more bites off that line, but I was at least starting to get indications off it. On the two hour mark I decided to have a go in the margins where I'd been flicking about a dozen grains of corn every five minutes. A bite strait away saw me attached to a decent fish that charged out of the swim before pulling off! I fed it and rested it, going back to the 5m line. Here I hooked a decent mirror on corn that looked a good 7lb, and that pulled off just as I went to net it and fired my rig up a tree. A new hook-link was required after!

I couldn't get any more bites off the 5m line after so I dropped back in on the margin on double corn. A quick bite here saw me land a small common of about 3lb, and feeding just after I hooked it saw me hook a fish almost strait away after dropping in again. This did the same as the first fish I hooked down the edge and charged off and the hook pulled. This was not amusing and I have to admit I was rather peeved. I changed the hook-link, even though there was nothing wrong with the hook, but the bites stopped after.

I had a brief try over, where I had still been feeding via the catty but even the roach had got bored of mullering the pellet - probably they had a jaw ache! The match was passing by and frustratingly too. I fed a big pot of corn on the 5m line to try and boost it, as I could get odd indications on it. It worked to a degree as the float buried with a single grain of corn as bait, but the result was a crucian of about a pound. I carried on plugging away, changing the shotting to try and make hittable bites from the odd knock. I did manage to nab another small carp of about 3lb off the line, fishing well away from the feed but with two hours to go I had just three carp.

I found myself back in the margins and was getting odd bites but could not connect with them. I'm not sure if the missed bites were smaller fish or because the wind was blowing the rig back towards me a touch, as I do find then that having the float closer to you than the pole tip seems to result in missed bites for whatever reason. Still, the increase in movement was encouraging!

With an hour and a half to go I had a try on the 5m line again, and thought I had it sussed when when I managed two fish in a row, each taken by moving the shot well away from the hook in a much less positive spread-bulk and two droppers pattern, and then lowering the float in very slowly. It didn't work for a third time though! In fact, even the knocks lessened after.

With an hour to go I dropped in the edge on double corn and the float was away instantly and soon a slightly better fish of about 5lb was in the net. In fact I found myself going from relative inactivity to motoring! By feeding after I hooked a fish bites came very steadily. I'd like to claim it went like a dream and I hit them all but but I did still miss a couple. With just under an hour to go when I put carp number six in the net I found myself putting carp number fifteen in the net about twenty seconds after the whistle - what a complete change of a swim! The average stamp was good too. I did have two smaller fish, going about 5lb the pair of them, but the others were bigger and the best being number thirteen, a common of about 8lb.

When the scales got to me the other bank had fished very well, with weights of 92lb and 70lb being top and a couple of 40lb weights too. My fish went 61lb 2oz in total, and in the end that was good enough for third place, with nobody else challenging the frame after me.

In the end I was pretty pleased, as while the lost fish cost me second I got a result off a peg that nobody really likes. It's just a shame I packed all the action into one hour rather than spread it out!

Next weekend brings the August Bank Holiday, and while I won't be out on the Sunday I shall on the Monday, so the next update will be a bit later. Tight lines until then!