Well as you have probably worked out if you have been following the results, I haven’t done very well down Cornwall. In fact, that is probably the understatement of the century, fishing wise it has been a complete disaster!
That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed the week because I have, its been fantastic, it always is at White Acres. Plenty of beer and a good craic guarantee a good week regardless of the fishing, but a combination of poor draws and bad angling have seen me coming back feeling more than a little bit piscatorially challenged!
We decided to book the caravan for an extra day, and go down on the Thursday night and so gain an extra day practicing. As it worked out, the weather was terrible on Friday and Saturday, so it hardly seemed worth getting all the gear drenched, though I did manage a few hours on Pollawyn on friday afternoon, taking a few carp form my favourite peg -27!
And so ensued the long awaited first night piss up,, starting at White Acres in the bar and ending up in a night club, then a late bar down Newquay, before returning to the site a little worse for wear around five in the morning. It was a really good night, and a great chance to catch up with a lot of people I hadn’t seen since last October.
I was a little the worse for wear the following day, and so after a bacon sandwich agreed to give my mate and festival virgin Ian Frost a tour of the lakes, before setting about tying a few rigs in the afternoon.
Another heavy night commenced, which again culminated in a trip down Newquay, and a homemade bacon and brie sandwich in the early hours.
A lie in was in order, and I then decided to have a run down to Trelawney to sit and tie some rigs up on the bank, while throwing a few pieces of meat and some hemp on the short line so I could fish later on in the day. I was still slightly the worse for wear, as Mark Murdoch pointed out when he came round for a chat mid morning.
I got plenty of rigs done, and a couple of feeder rods set up with light gear as I was to be on Porth first day. Late on I had a play on the short line, and managed to give the elastic a stretch catching a few fish, the best being a carp around 12lb. Frosty fished the peg next to me and seemed to be slotting into White Acres ways quite easily, catching plenty of fish on the meat feeder and pellet waggler.
A steady night Sunday saw me tie plenty of rigs and be at the draw queue bright and early Sunday, eager to put my hand in the bag and pull out a good un! Out came peg 73, and from what Stewart said it was a decent area.
The only problem with being at Porth on the first day is that you don’t really know what to expect, as it doesn’t get match fished regularly like a lot of the lakes do. I had spoken to Stuart and Steve Ringer, and they both advised me to take it steady, feeding four balls and feel my way in, as it wasn’t anticipated that a massive weight would be required to win the section , or the match.
I set up three pole rigs and a groundbait feeder, but was frustrated as a tree behind my peg meant that shipping back was a real problem, I could only get back to six metres so I knew I would have to break down twice, not ideal when a day catching a lot of small fish was on the cards.
I found around ten feet of water at thirteen metres, with a good five foot at six metres. Stewart told me I would probably catch short later on in the day, so it was worth keeping some bait going in. I mixed up a bag of fishmeal groundbait for the feeder, and a 50/50 mix of Lake and Roach Noire for the pole.
At the all in I carefully cupped in four balls with a few pinkies, squats and dead maggots in. The only problem was by the time I had done this, Steve May to my left was playing a fish, as was the chap to my right, after they had both balled around fifteen balls in at 14.5 metres!
Ave It!
I couldn’t get a bite, and the two chaps either side of me were getting one a bung so, with an hour gone, I must admit I panicked. I gave them another six balls, hoping to make something happen. In short, it didn’t happen and I still couldn’t get a bite!
I had a chuck on the feeder and caught four skimmers in as many chucks, before things went totally dead. Then a cormorant surfaced right over where I was fishing, with a six ounce skimmer protruding from its chops. That would explain it!
To cut a long story short, I managed a few roach on the pole and another skimmer to weigh in with an abysmal 1-10, last in the section and second to last on the lake!
Steve Ringer won my section and was second in the match with a 12-2-0 net which he caught by fishing steady, as Stewart had advised me to do! He fed fishmeal groundbait and caught well on worms over the top late on in the day.
All in all, I was very disappointed with how the day had gone, and felt I could have done better if only I had had faith and stuck to my guns. I also should have made the effort and fished longer, even though it would have been slower at least I would have been on a par with those anglers around me who had balled it in. I have made the mistake of fishing too short before, and I really should have learnt from my mistake last time.
Even if I had done this though, I think the best result I could have achieved was third, as Steve Ringer put on a tidy display and could ship all the way back as he had managed to put his platform in the water, and another lad in the section had a bonus tench of around 3lb taking his weight to 11-14.
I also think that the two anglers balling in either side of me would probably have been a disadvantage, so all in all a combination of bad luck and bad angling cost me. Unfortunately, hindsight wins you nothing though.
Face On!
After a few beers, a good sulk and an early night I was fresh as a daisy at the draw queue the next day, hoping for a revival of fortunes. In went my hand and out came peg four Bolingey. I told Stewart and he just shook his head, telling me that the drawbag gods really were against me. He told me that the end pegs would take the top places in the section, and peg six would also probably beat me, so the best I could hope for was fifth.
He advised me to fish shallow for most of the match with pellets, and Steve Ringer echoed these sentiments, and told me that Grant Albutt had taken a good weight off peg six once by fishing shallow, and when the fish had shown up they had been big.
The only consolation I had was that my mate and Ossett rod Joe Carass was on the next peg (which sounded equally as bad as mine) so some banter was guaranteed. I set up a couple of shallow rigs and a depth rig to fish at 14.5 metres, and also plumbed up a six metre line and a couple of margin swims, to fall back on if things were dire late on in the day.
Now I am not one to grass on my mates or take credit for another mans work, but there are a few things that simply have to come out in the open about that fateful day on Bolingey. First off, Joe had left his rigs at the caravan, and was all set to go back for them, until I stepped in an agreed to lend him some of mine, which he gratefully accepted, therefore of course, I take full credit for the weight of carp he caught later on in the day.
Anyhow, I digress. How did he repay me for this unprompted act of kind heartedness and generosity? By snapping my number six section clean in half! I have seen fear of a next peg battering manifest itself in some strange ways, but this is the most extreme!
Fortunately, Joe had a spare section in his carryall, so he replaced my broken one and all was not lost! It gave me a good excuse to take the piss all day as well!
An eely good start!
At the all in I fed my short line and down the edge, before starting long on the bottom, while constantly feeding four pellets with the hope of a few fish shallow. As I fed my first pouch full I looked round to see Joe guiding an 8lbr over the net. “Another one like that and I’ll be coming for my rigs back” I warned!
The fishing gods got there own back for my relentless taunts however. My float slid away and yards of 15 hollo elastic shot out of the tip, I gave Joe a wry smile “looks like its one all matey” I said. I fed another pouch, then started to ship back, but it seemed like the fish had snagged me in the middle of the open water. I pulled, and pulled, then it seemed to start coming towards me.
It was an eel around 3lb, how you foul hook an eel in the side I don’t know, but this is what I had somehow managed to do, and slime my rig up in the process.
The match proved really hard for us for most of the day, and at quarter to four I had four fish, to Joe’s three, and was feeling confident of claiming the mandatory pound side bet. Then I decided that the shallow line wasn’t working, and that my best chance of a few fish was on my short line and down the edge.
Bad Decision!
As soon as I stopped feeding my shallow line Joe started catching, but I took a ghostie straight away on my meat line, so at first I wasn’t to worried. But then Joe took another fish, and another, and my float refused to budge.
I went back on the long line and slapped my rig on the water, and took an 8lbr straight away, then went back in and got one about six, before the line died totally for both of us. It was like a mad fourty minutes, and as the last half hour approached, neither of us could get a bite. In that time, Joe had pulled in front by six fish, having made the right decision to stop on that line while I had come off it like an idiot.
I weighed 26lb for second to last in section, while Joe came second in the section with 72lb. Fishing can be a cruel sport at times, but at the end of the day he had made the correct choice, and I had made the wrong one. If only I had done as Stewart and Steve had told me and fished shallow ALL DAY. I had the words of Delboy ringing in my ears. You Plonker!
Perched On The Edge Of Disaster
With all chance of getting in the top ten now out of the window, all I could do was hope for a lake win, and so prayed for a draw on the high bank on day three. My bad luck at the draw bag continued however, and I pulled out peg 55. Again, Stewarts expression after I had drawn said it all- not the best peg! I spoke to a few people and from what I could gather I wasn’t going to catch many carp in that particular area, and so a head down approach with the silvers was required if no carp were forthcoming in the early part of the match.
I started off on the meat across, and fed a worm line at ten o’clock to my right hand side at six metres. I also pinged a few pellets across up to the island in a different spot. I had an early look on the meat which yielded no bites, then I went on the pellet line and caught a roach, so I decided to keep a bit of bait going in across, while having a look for some silvers down the track.
First drop I took a tench first drop about three pounds, and when I followed it up with a bream of a similar size, I must admit I was getting quite excited. I took a roach a put after this, and as the stamp got smaller I decided it was time to top up. I found that this killerd the peg for five minutes, before it came back to life with a better stamp of fish. I managed to get into a pattern of feeding this line then going for a look across before coming back and catching some silvers until the peg needed topping up again. Unfortunately, no carp showed up, but later in the day I did get the odd better perch to 3lb on my choppie line.
I ended the match with 37lb of mixed skimmers, roach and perch for fourth in my nine peg section. Joe won the section with 53lb, which was made up seven carp and some skimmers. I just needed a few bonus carp and I might have scraped some section money. For the first time that week, I can say I fished a decent match, and don’t honestly feel the peg was worth a lot more.
A Decent Peg At Last!
A few bevvies in the bar on Wednesday night saw me wake up a tad foggy headed for the draw on Thursday. I was looking for a draw on Twin Oaks as oppose to Trelawney, as this has been were the lake has been won from every day. This was too much to ask, but I did pull an end peg on Trelawney, Peg 32, which I know is a form peg on the venue normally.
I had a look on the board, and was disappointed to see it was second to last in section on the day previous, with 24lb. I spoke to Stewart and Steve and both advised me to fish across with pellets and feed a short line, and also have a couple of margin lines down the side.
I decided to start up to the island feeding pellets, but with corn on the hook. As soon as the hooter sounded, the wind got up however, and I was struggling to hold the 14.5 metres required to fish tight across. I took four fish in the first fourty minutes but by this time the wind was making it almost impossible to hold the pole.
I came on my short corn line, and was concerned as the lines I had plumbed down the edge were promptly becoming engulfed in a thick layer of scum which was drifting down the lake on the prevailing wind.
I plumbed up again a bit further from the bank, and fed here, before taking a couple of smaller fish from my corn line. Nothing showed down the edge, but I kept feeding it with pellets and corn. The short line had really died a death, so I decided to try and brave the wind and fish long. It was really tough, but after twenty minutes of battling the wind and swearing I did manage another carp of about 4lb. I wasn’t going anywhere fast though, and from what I could see everyone at my end of the lake was in the same boat.
A look down the edge produced a bite and a fish straight away, and thoughts of a late revival sprang to mind, but I couldn’t seem to put a run of fish together. I had another one down the edge and lost one under my net to end the match with 36lb, which put me fourth in my nine peg section. The three weights that beat me were all at the top end where more fish seemed to have showed on both sides of the lake.
Steve Ringer won our lake with 140lb, but there was a better weight off Twin Oaks, ever consistent Kerry Kirkwood weighed in with over 200lb!
So it was time for a few more bevies and a game of bowling with Joe and Adam, and it turned out I was even worse at that than I am at fishing!
Grim-ere
My last chance of winning some money was Gwinear on the final day, and there are plenty of good pegs to pull as well as one or two bad ones. Unfortunately my diabolical drawing arm stayed with me and out came peg 52, just off the poit of the banjo, pointing towards peg 45 in the worsed section on the lake.
I decided to fish relatively light on the top of the bar I had at 14.5 metres with chopped worms and casters, and was hoping for a mixed bag of skimmers hopefully with a couple of carp to boost my weight. I fished 0.14 mainline, as I expected things to be tricky, and twinned it with a soft set 11 H elastic
I fed half a pot of worms and casters at the start, and then started the match on a piece of worm over the top. It buried first drop in and I was into a carp, not a bad start I thought! The carp wasn’t planning on coming in easily however, and shot off down the margin to my left, and round the corner towards Steve Mays peg, snapping my hooklength in the process. Incidentally, I drew next to the same two anglers I was next to on the first day. They had battered me at Porth, so I was looking for revenge!
I had three skimmers in three drops for around three pounds, but then I couldn’t get a bite. I have no idea why, but my swim just seemed to die. Nobody was catching anything really, with the exception of Joe who was getting one a bung from the bridge peg!
To cut a long and very boring story short, I didn’t have a bite for three hours, before taking two carp in two puts. I tried down the edge in the last hour, but nothing showed and I ended up weighing in with 16lb. I was the best weight on my side of the banjo, and also beat peg 43 and three of the early pegs. Karl Webster caught late on from peg 45 to do me by a few ounces, and pegs one and two also caught well, weighing in with just shy of 30lb a piece. The only good news to come from the day was that I had got my own back on the two anglers either side of me for Mondays battering, as they only weighed around 5lb a piece!
Joe Does It Again!
Joe Carass fished an awesome match, and won with 174lb taken up in the water on casters under the bridge. He had a fantastic festival, and thoroughly deserved to be in the top ten. He is a great angler who has helped me loads with my fishing, so I was chuffed to death to see him on the stage at the presentation that evening, and also a little jealous!
The rest as they say is history, Steve Ringer took a thoroughly deserved overall victory with a perfect 36 point score, after making good some very average pegs on the last two days of the festival. Andy May finished second, with Will Raison coming in third.
I was disappointed to finish 124th, I seem to be going backwards on these Cornish Festivals, I finished 53rd on the first one I fished, and have since gone backwards recording a 76th, a 116th and a 124th in that order!
It is a massive learning curve though, and as Stewart Lister pointed out, the draws I had weren’t fantastic. If I could go back and fish the pegs again then I would definitely do better though, and have learnt loads throughout the week. I think my main weakness has been feeding, as a northern angler I am used to feeding cautiously with pole pots and kinder pots etc, but at White Acres feeding by hand and catapult really is the order day. I was interested to learn that Joe didn’t even set a cupping kit up for the last three days of the festival!
A few bevies on the Friday night were a pleasant end to a great week, and even though I was disappointed with my results I still had a good time. The festivals down there are impeccable, and next year I’m going to try and fish as many as possible, and I can’t wait to get back down for the Maver Festival and the winners week in October.
Home Comforts
A steady drive back up the M5 saw me make the journey home in around 5 hours, no complaints there! In fact, the first place I hit traffic was at the top of Woodseats, about five minutes from my house.
On the Sunday I had agreed to go fishing with Keith Higginbottom to Wetlands fishery, and after a nice breakfast at his house we made the draw in good time. There was a good turnout of just over fourty anglers, and I was happy to pull out peg 22, not an out and out flier by any means but a steady peg in open water, which suits the way I fish the venue.
As I explained in a previous blog, I like to fish worms and casters here as you catch the carp but also get amongst the better silvers that the venue holds. I fished two lines, one at thirteen metres with chopped worms and casters, and one down the side to my right with pellets, where I hoped to snare a lump late on in the day.
I had a really slow start, and with two hours gone I only had three fish, a bream and two ide for around 10lb. The whole lake was fishing hard though, and I could see only the odd person getting fish.
I kept ploughing the bait in though, and eventually a few fish turned up. I ended up with four carp and another ide and weighed 44lb. This put me third in the match, and secured me a few beer tokens. After such a tough time down White Acres it was nice just to win some money to be honest! Typical isn’t it, you go to a venue half an hour from your house and catch more than I caught on any day three hundred miles away in Cornwall! I just hope October brings better fortune!
‘joe’ what tom???? ‘this is not working!!!!!!! legendary comment from scholey!!!
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