By Matt | No Comments
Last updated: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

After an alright result at Cudmore last weekend, I decided to go for a double header this time to try and get my head around the place. I had the company of Tom Scholey too this week, so there were two of us to work it out!

It was an early 6.30am pick up, and a steady run down in plenty of time for a fisherman’s breakfast and the draw. We even had time for a quick walk round, and I must say, I really wanted to draw on the Suez or Brewster’s canal pools, after having a hard match on the new pools last week. But, as sods law would have it, out came peg 148 on new pool 5. I didn’t get despondent though, and after asking around it seemed to be in the right area, the middle of the lake, where a few fish had had a chew last week.

I decided to fish the lake very similar to the previous week, and placed a bloodworm line at 11m, a pellet and corn line at 16, and then settled on either a bomb or feeder with corn and maggots to cast beyond the pole lines. I fed my bloodworm line with just one large ball of sticky joker and a few casters. I used a 0.2gram Jean Francois float here, with 0.10 line to an 0.06 hooklength and a 22 gamma green hook. I felt that I overfed my long line last week, so I was dead careful not to make the same mistake twice, so this week I only used a kinder pot, and counted 2 grains of corn and 20 micro pellets to go in there. I made sure I knew exact where this went, lining up with a tree opposite me.

The rig for this was a 0.3g Tomas Walter Carp series to 0.10 line straight through to a 20 B911 hook. I also set up a 4×14 Carpa chimp up on this line for maggot. Elastic was again number 9 Preston hollo. My bomb/feeder rig was simply a running rig with a stop bead and a 2ft tail of 0.11 lines to an 18 B911 with a hair rig. I was using the Spro 10ft Picker rod, ideal for commercial bomb work, light and soft but with a bit of backbone, and one of the new Spro Red Ark reels loaded with 4lb line.

After feeding my pole lines I decided to cast around with a bomb and hair rigged corn. I had a few liners but nothing was looking great. After half an hour I decided to switch to a crushed pellet feeder across into to net holes opposite. First chuck with maggot the tip went round. ‘Here we go….’ I thought. The culprit was a 3oz gudgeon…….great! After another half an hour on this I still didn’t have any proper fish, only a handful of bits and bobs. I came in onto the long pole line and baited up with a single 3mm expander. The wind was quite strong but off my back, so I could still present it ok. After a few minutes I had my first bite from a skimmer around 6oz. I went out again but had no response so I fed another grain of corn and a pinch of micros. Half an hour later I connected with something better. A humpty back mirror was netted after a short scrap, which would probably go 3½lb. Unfortunately my match went down hill from there on.

The wind turned round to an angle, and I only hooked one more carp as I went to move the bait, which was foul hooked and soon came off. I tried the worm line but I just couldn’t get settled, so I decided to sit it out for big fish long. I had my last bit of excitement 10 minutes from the end with a lazy rouge 1lb skimmer falling to a pellet, but to be honesty I felt I fished a poor match. I was well down in the section with 6lb 12oz. I even managed to get three pole joints stuck together at the end! Nothing went blooming right!

I was pleased to hear the Tom had done really well, catching nearly 19lb of all sorts of pool 3, and battered the two either side of him who didn’t weigh in. I picked his brains on the journey home, and after one of our Kev’s (my dad) special carp curries, I felt much better. An early night sorted my head out and was ready for it Sunday morning, although the currys nuclear and atomic after effects were kicking in!

A Different Day

Sunday saw me draw on pool 3, the same pool as Tom did well off the day before. The lakes were double banked, with anglers all the way around, and I drew peg 99 on the far bank in a corner. I honestly didn’t fancy it at all, and I didn’t have many options. The rods stayed in bed today, and I settled on a pole only approach. I plumbed a line up at 12.5m, where I had 4½ foot and settled on a lighter 4×12 Carpa Chimp float on 0.10 line to an 0.08 hooklength, but a size 22 hook for maggots and 4-6 elastic. Here I planned to fish for some silvers with maybe the odd carp, putting in maggot and pellet regular. The next rig I set up was a 0.4g Walter Series, again on 0.10, but shotted with just a positive bulk to present pellet and corn for a bonus carp long at 14.5m. I fed this line with only corn, 20 grains to start with, in hope of attracting some of the bigger mirrors that won on this lake the day before. I couldn’t ignore the margin swim, so I pretended it was summer and plumbed a rig up for into the corner too, there I kept trickling pellet and a bit of corn. I started on my 14.5m line with corn, but never had a sniff in half an hour. A switch to pellet instantly brought 4 hand sized skimmers, but then this died do I re-fed and came onto my maggot line. It was still slow, and my first fish as an F1 around a pound. Two hours in I had an F1, 6 small skimmers and a few roach.

I didn’t have many options so I stuck at these two lines, and at the half way stage thigs started to turn around. I picked up three F1’s in short succession, and then had a run of roach and skimmers, and even a surprise barble around 2lb. All these fell to single maggot. The rest of my match was spent alternating lines, catching a few fish and moving on, both on pellet long and maggot short. I had a look down the edge to no avail, but we’ve got to be optimistic! I really enjoyed the last hour and hooked a much better fish on my maggot line 15 minutes from the end. It was dogged, and I as still playing it after time. I couldn’t give it too much on a 0.08 bottom and 22 hook. Out of the blue its tail must have missed a beat and it surfaced. It was a big barble, at least 6lb, and I couldn’t be quick enough with the net.

It was a much better day today. When the scales arrived the best weight was 16lb, and was chuffed to put 30lb 02oz on, made up of all sorts. I was sure the guy two pegs down had done me, as he caught the bigger mirrors, but it was a close one, and he put a well earned 33lb on the scales to win the lake. I didn’t end up picking up any money but finished around 8th in the sixty odd peg match, and went home feeling much more relaxed about the place. Tom performed yet again, winning his section with around 11lb off pool 5, the lake I was on the previous day. He had definitely got something sorted, so it was time for more brain picking on the way home!