By Tom | No Comments
Last updated: Wednesday, March 19, 2008

With two nights out planned in the run up to last weekend, I took the decision to stop local on Saturday, as I had to get back for a wedding in the evening. It was the right decision to make, as a stag do on Thursday night left me with a sore head on Friday morning, and when friday nights ‘ quiet drink’ developed into another crawl home in the early hours, I was feeling decidedly rough as I prepared the bacon sandwiches on Saturday morning!

Me and Keith (Higginbottom), had decided to have another crack at the open match at Barlborough’s Woodlands Fisheries. We had dropped on a match on there a few weeks before, and I had won with 43lb, so I was looking forward to getting back for another go.

Unfortunately, due to a winter league taking place somewhere else the turnout was a little low, and with this in mind match organizer John Mills decided to have a rover match. I have never fished in a rover before, and as someone who has only dropped on the venue a couple of times I wasn’t thrilled at the idea, as those who fish the venue week in week out would know where to go, and we wouldn’t!

I was chuffed to pull number three out however, meaning I was the third person to choose where to fish. Not knowing the first thing about what pegs had been producing, I let the match organizer pick a peg for me. He put me on peg 16, and promised to tell me how to fish it once he had finished organizing the draw.

Fortunately, nobody decided to choose the pegs either side of where I was, so I had plenty of room. John helped me carry my tackle to my peg (that’s what you call a bailiff!) before advising me on how to fish my peg.

He told me to fish two lines across to the islands in front of me, one with pellets and one with corn, and fish a line down the edge. I also decided to put a line in down the track for skimmers.

In terms of rigs, I opted for a 4X10 Preston Chianti to 0.12 line and an 0.10 bottom across, where I planned to fish in 18 inches of water. In used a size 20 B911 on one rig, and a lighter, size 20 Middy T6313 on another so I could try a maggot over the top of my pellets if the going was tough. I managed to find four points along the island that were all the same depth, which was also the same depth as my margin line. I also set a rig up around 18 inches deep, just in case the fish backed up the shelf late on in the day.

Down the track, I fished a 4X14’s Tubertini Delta 0.10 mainline to an 0.8 bottom, with a 20 T6313.

Time!

At the all in, I cupped half a pot of micro pellets, with a sprinkling of 4mm pellets and corn in down the edge. I also fed three balls of Ringers groundbait with casters down the track. I then put a nugget of groundbait and some pellets on one of my up the shelf line, before starting the match on a separate line fed just with corn, as I had been instructed.

A biteless ten minutes saw me drop over the line I had fed with groundbait and pellets, and I was soon swinging my first fish of the day to hand, a rudd of around four ounces. By this time, I had seen an angler further round the lake net two carp already, and was worried I had drawn off them, as silverfish can be a bad sign when you are hoping your peg is full of carp!

I kept dribbling a bit of bait on all my lines however, and before long I had my first carp of the day. Corn seemed to be the best bait on the day, And two of my three lines across seemed to be producing particularly well, so I dropped the third one. I kept feeding down the edge with the pot, and after around half of the match had elapsed I decided to give it a try. Two seconds later and elastic was streaming from my top kit as an angry F1 made a bid for freedom. Another two drops saw two more F1’s in the net, then bites got a bit cagey, so I decided to trickle a bit more bait in and go back out long.

I took a couple more F1’s but things seemed to be slowing down as the day wore on. It was difficult to read what was happening, I wasn’t sure whether I was feeding two much or not enough, but it seemed every time I fed I would get a couple of bites and then no more, almost as if the fish were coming in to the bait then backing off, feeding heavier made no real difference however. It was strange.

In the last hour I took a couple more fish of every line, but was really having to work for bites, I found that the fish seemed to want pellets rather than corn later in the day, but early on in the day the opposite was true.

Misplaced Confidence!

Despite not really bagging up, I felt confident I was winning the match, as I couldn’t really see anyone else catching hardly anything. Unfortunately, my self confidence was drastically misplaced however. My 32 carp and two rudd went 41-4-0, which was only good enough for second place overall, as someone further round the lake to my right weighed 41-14-0! I am certain he didn’t have as many fish as me, so the ones he had must have been big lads, but thinking about it when I won the match in January I had far fewer fish but a higher weight, it seems the bigger mirrors sit in pockets, as do the F1’s, and you can only catch what you are drawn on.

Keith had a good match from a bad area to finish with 18lb of predominantly silver fish, an enjoyable days fishing.

Still, it gave me a bit of money to take to the wedding reception my friend was hosting that evening. It was hosted at the Hilton Hotel, and at £3.80 a pint the winnings didn’t go far however!

Hallcroft Hell!

On Sunday it was the penultimate round of the Winter League at Hallcroft Fisheries. The last time I fished the venue I finished 3rd in my nine peg section with 7oz, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it!

I picked the brains of Ian Littlewood and Phil Morgan, who along with the rest of the Triana team have won the teams of four league at the venue which has run through the winter.

He advised me to fish a small maggot feeder half way across the lake, and fish a groundbait line with joker at around 12 metres. On the morning of the match, Phil gave me a feeder which was smaller than anything I have ever owned! Still, it obviously proved effective, as they have had some cracking weights on the method this winter.

I got to my peg and wished I had stopped in bed, as a strong wind was blowing slap bang in my chops. I set up my feeder rod and mixed my groundbait, before huddling down with my flask and waiting for the all in.

I cupped 12 balls in at 12 metres, before chucking the feeder out around 20 metres, where I thought I was meant to chuck it. I was getting indications but no positive bites, so after around half an hour I dropped on the pole line.

First drop in with the bloodworm I took a roach around two ounce, then disaster! A gust of wind blew the baitbox with my bloodworm in off the side tray and into the water. The daft thing was, I had left it teetering on the edge of the tray in my rush to get out and get another fish. You Stupid Boy Pike!

Back on the feeder and I took a small roach first drop, but things were tough, Chriss Greensides three pegs above me was catching well, taking a small roach on bloodworm every put in. I decided to try again on the pole after three more biteless chucks.

Big Stripey!

The float settled, then buried and elastic streamed from the pole tip. I shipped back steadily, anticipating a carp to be the culprit, but when a big perch surfaced and was promptly netted I wasn’t too disappointed. I estimated it weighed just over a pound, a welcome addition to the net!

Next put in, and no more bites were forthcoming, so it was back on the feeder. It was about this time that Ian Littlewood arrived, and when I showed him what I had been doing he told me I was chucking short of where I should have been.

He gave me a heavier feeder, and I flicked it a few yards past where I had been casting. A good sized roach was my instant reward, followed by another good sized perch of around 10 oz.

I must admit I got excited at this point, thinking things were going to improve , but sadly the opposite was true. I took a small skimmer and a couple more roach, but the big skimmers I was hoping for never really turned up.

It seemed as the match wore on things were getting harder for everyone, and even Chris stopped catching on the bloodworm. Dave Holberry to my right didn’t have a bite for the whole duration of the match, and the chap to my left took only one skimmer.

I picked Ian’s brains on what I could have done better, and I agreed when he said that fishing that feeder longer all match would have caught me more, as in effect I started my match again half way through when he arrived with the heavier feeder.

I also think if I hadn’t dropped my bloodworm in I would have won the section, as the speed at which it buried the first time I dropped in with it made me think that there were a few fish there. Still, there is no point crying over spilt milk- or bloodworm!

As it happened, Chris won the section with 3-9-0 and I was second with 2-10-0. I wasn’t as far behind Chris as I thought, but it wouldn’t have had any real effect on how I fished so it didn’t really make a difference.

All in all, I wasn’t happy with how I fished however. A big slap on the wrist and must do better next time!