Well this weekend turned into another frustrating one in the Carass camp!!!! on saturday I travelled to my regular weekend haunt, Lindholme Lakes. After a run of draws on every other lake except Bonsai I was positive i’d get on it this week!!!!!
Anyway, the usual Lindhome wind machine was cranked up to full force as per usual and everyone expected Oasis Pool to be a complete blow out so was desperate not to draw there, anyway i thought id draw with my left hand this week after a run of right hand draws had been pants!!! anyway i drew peg 71 on bonsai D’OH!!!!
I’d already been on it twice this winter and not caught a deal and it was generaly considered a terrible draw-LIP DOWN!!!! and to make matters worse travelling partner Ben ‘drawbag’ Fisk had drawn oasis-DOUBLE LIP DOWN!!!!! Anyway off I plodded to my peg moaning all the way, when Daylite Baits angler Daz Taylor said ‘Where ya drawn young un?’ I promptly replied ‘71′…….’You like it there dont ya!!!’ you can probably guess my answer!!!
He said that John Kelly had been on it on thursday and had some fish, so I was a bit anxious as to what to expect. Now if you dont know Bonsai, its a horseshoe shaped lake with about 10 islands dotted around. The early pegs to 25 are all in pole range and the 40’s and 60’s are feeder chucks but are fliers. 71 is on the end of the long point and only 14m to the island, it looks lovely but in winter the fish dont settle there and are much happier in the wider parts of the lake. I thought id set up 3 rigs and a method feeder, the wind was sort of off my back so i felt i could present a bait when others couldnt.
I set a 4×10 carpa chimp on 0.10 straight through to a size 20 Tubertini 808, a 4×14 chimp with same hook and a 0.75gr fox mp3 with the same hook and line. All these where set at dead depth at about 3 foot tight to the island reeds. I also fed a line in the same depth in the right hand margin with maggots just to drop in for a bonus every now and then. I opened my account with a small preston cad pot full of micros tipped over two swims across and 20 maggots for the short line, before kicking off on a method chucked to my right and left in the space, with no pulls I thought ‘here we go again’. so I shipped the 4×10 rig across with a 4mm pellet on and fed a pinch of micros and had a liner straight away, and dropped back in and promptly hooked a 2lb f1!!! A great start.
Anyway I plodded on, on the two swims across and felt I was going well with 25 fish after 2 hours for probably 23lbish I dropped on the 6m swim and had a 2lb tench too. Thats the beauty of that inside swim its a throwaway but always produces a few extra fish. Then the wind changed to blowing across me and ive never been so frustrated in my whole life!!! A peg full of fish and I couldnt fish it properly, I had to fish just the one line and use the 0.75 rig and just hope that the float would go in the ten seconds I literally had to hold the pole before the wind whipped it round. aaaaarrrrggghhhh!!!!
Going into the last hour my catch rate had really slowed with the lack of presentation and just general time fishing really, when all of a sudden i had a massive landing!!! My peg was suddenly solid with big lads!!!! I had 3lb carp, a 4lb carp and an 8lber in as many casts and was starting to think of a brown envelope. the wind was still horrendous and as the big lads I hooked tore off round the corner the wind blew in the opposite direction pulling the hooks out, I lost about 4 big fish in the last hour that i knew would cost me.
At the all out i was still really annoyed with the wind, but considering I was pleased to weigh 52lb odd and felt id done well. I finished 5th and a section win, but frustratingly 55lb would have got me second!!!! ouch. Anyway after the usual few hours in the pub talking fishing it was getting on for 8 o clock before I got home and I still had to tie my hooks for the following day!!!! When i got back i walked through the door and my dad had a stupid grin on his face, he said ‘Help us get this washing machine out cock’ great!!! Anyway, after an hour of swearing and riving at it we finally managed it, and i thought sod it to the hooks!
Sunday was a chance to practice at Packington Somers for the upcoming two day Sensas Challenge Final,it was a 58 peg match and the only chance the fishery would let us use bloodworm apart from the final. Now, the fishery had never seen it before and usually the fishing is either brilliant or rubbish when they are not used to the ‘worm’. Anyway with the venue some 3 hours from my house an early start was called for, at 4.30 am my alarm went off and my head refused to lift off my pillow!!!
One last push and i did it and woke up lol i was traveling with my mate Lodgey and his was an hour away anyway. We got there in good time to have a breakfast etc at the excellent barston lakes, which i must say i was very impressed with. The match was to be fished to international rules so strict bait limits and a 13m pole limit was enforced.
I drew peg 5 on molands lake which is like a big snake lake but about 40 yards wide, I had Kian Wardle, Miles Day and Ben Leach for company!!!! Anyway i kicked off by balling 10 balls in at 13m and cupped 750ml of joker over the top as I’d heard the lake was full of skimmers so i was expecting them to land at some point and i fully expected the roach to whittle away my initial feed so i wanted something left in my peg in case the skimmers did ‘land’.
I also fed a caster swim. I didnt really know what to expect so was very pleased with a 4oz skimmer first chuck!!! i caught nice and steady for the first hour then i had a small fish invasion!!!! all those to my right that where in my section where struggling so i thought id plod rather than go for a walk. Kian and Ben to my left and the anglers beyond them where catching really well with skimmers and tench. At the all out i weighed 6lb of small stuff for second in section. The lake fished really well and im really lookin forward to next weeks two-dayer. Stu Conroy won the match with 30 odd lb of skimmers and Will Raison was second with 26lb. Lodgey snuck 5th with 18lb and a section win so we came away having learnt plenty and were very up beat about the venue, ill let ya know how we get on next week!!
what r u moaning about peg 71 on bonsai… its the best peg on the lake
tis when its 20 degrees cocka
i agree its a great peg i have had two wins off 71.
yes its awesome in summer lol
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