Gwinear!

I had a call mid week from Andy Dare asking if I wanted to fish a match at Gwinear on Sunday, I had to say no as I had promised to have the day off. But as soon as I said no I was thinking I really wanted to fish that match! The trouble was twofold, firstly I had promised the long suffering Vivien that I would not go fishing and secondly as I had refused there was no space for me!

On Saturday just before the winter league at Oakside John Forster decided that he should go to Trewaters on Sunday in practice for a forthcoming league match, as he was booked at Gwinear I wasted no time in claiming his place, that night I had a bit of explaining to do!

I really couldn’t wait to get back on Gwinear as I have fished loads of matches there over the years and I have some fond memories of the place. It was really upsetting when KHV was diagnosed back in the spring. Charlie, Gwinear’s owner was understandably devastated by the loss of his fish but he thankfully made the decision to keep the legend of Gwinear alive. He closed the water called in the EA and CEFAS and has worked incredibly hard over the summer with a group of local anglers. Unbelievably the water is now open for business albeit in a limited capacity for the time being.

Driving into the car park and immediately you can see the vast changes that have been made at Gwinear, the pools are now visible from the car parking area, a huge mound of soil has been removed. This allows more wind to get to the pools which will improve the oxygen levels of the lakes. Not that there was ever a security problem at this venue but now the cars are visible to anglers their security is increased.

The match lake has been completely remodelled and is now three separate pools. This has been accomplished by an inordinate amount of hard work and thought which will hopefully restore the fishery to former glory.

After the terrible disease struck the lake it was drained and then treated with lime to eradicate any germs / viruses that were present in the soil of the lake bed. Following this the one large lake was separated into three smaller pools. It was then a matter of working in three separate phases to complete the huge project.

Phase One.

The first lake, phase one is now open for business. This lake has been designed primarily as a pleasure lake and comprises of 16 pegs. It will be used for match fishing in the winter months and occasionally in the summer when extra pegs are needed. For those that knew Gwinear of old, imagine a new bank coming across from around peg 9 to peg 31 and then straight through the small island to peg 54 and you will be able to picture this new pool.

Phase Two.

This pool continues around from old peg 9 to peg 27 where the bridge used to be and a new bank joins this to the old island at peg 28, giving a completely new L shaped pool. There will be a minimum of 18 pegs on this lake. Although tons of new soil has been placed on the new lake bed this part of the lake will have the most depth on the complex the deepest part will be where pegs 20 -26 were.

Phase Three

This new pool comprises of the rest of the old lake from peg 37 through the 40’s around to peg 52 and straight back to island joining somewhere around where peg 30 used to be. A shallow bar has been created in the middle of this lake; it is situated along the whole length of the pool, all pegs will have access to it. This will also have a minimum of 18 pegs when finished.

It is envisaged that the work will be fully completed in time for spring 2009 when the complex will be fully open for business. The stocking levels for phases 2 and 3 is planned to be in excess of 100 lb per peg and will be carp only.

Despite all the work that has been completed Gwinear is already starting to mature and look like a seasoned fishery. Charlie has left as much as possible of the old banks undisturbed which has helped to give this impression. His aim is not only to restore the fishery to one of the best in Cornwall but to make it into an enjoyable place to fish.

The Match

I must admit to getting the wrong end f the stick for this match I mistook’ pleasure lake’ for silver fishing with the odd carp and turned up with silvers in mind. Chatting to Charlie in the car park he told me that the lake had been stocked with numerous carp and skimmers. This really threw my plans out of the window as I had a couple of pints of casters and a kilo of worms! Never mind it was great to be back at Gwinear and I immediately set about raiding Andy Dares van for some pellets! Well, he is on crutches and cannot run at the moment!

I drew peg six which was in the bottom corner near to old peg 57, the wind was howling into the bank to my left and I have to admit to fancying the peg, I just hoped that the carp wanted to follow the wind and not escape from it! I took the water temperature and was a little disappointed to see it down to 8 degrees I know its winter but the water temperatures seem to be falling very quickly.

I was told that this part of the lake had received very little work and depths would be similar to the last time I fished it. I found the bottom of the shelf at about 5 sections of pole and I had in the region of 6’ Floats were my favourite Cralusso Capri the .5 gram version, hook lengths were .12 xedion to PR36 size 18 hooks, I also had a similar rig to fish maggots or casters. The last rig I put up was an edge rig as I was very close to my left hand bank and it did look the part. I noticed that most anglers had set up straight leads or feeders I wasn’t sure whether or not this was just because of the wind or that they had been practising, either way there was nothing I could do about that as mine were at home!

The match for me personally was not very good it followed the trend of the last few weeks! Man I must have run over a flock of robins! I only actually had two bites which resulted in two very lively carp of about 3lb each, they were both caught on 6mm pellet at the bottom of the shelf! I just could not buy a bite elsewhere. I put it down to the fish not wanting to be in the wind either that or I fished it completely wrong!

The lake fished reasonably well and was won by Steve Bass who was two pegs to my right. The water there was much shallower about 3 ½ foot at 6 metres and it was at that depth that Steve caught, apart from some that he had on the feeder. The best hook bait seemed to be maggot. Around the lake most anglers caught and the feeling was it was a good match considering this was the first time so many anglers had fished it.

The full results were Steve Bass (Newquay) 39-8-0; Martyn Newstead (Sensas Thyers) 29-8-0; Chris Hancock (Newquay) 23-14-0; Andy Dare (Daiwa Trentmen) 23-4-0; Trev Conroy (Kernow MG) 15-0-0.

After most matches and in particular when I haven’t had a great day, I try to analyse my match and to see if there was any way that I could have improved things. My conclusions were that I may have caught more if I had a feeder rod with me and secondly to have fished different lines. As the fish seemed to be in shallower water perhaps I should have fished closer up the shelf? I also thought a longer line at about 14 metres fishing soft hook pellets / maggots over micros may have been better. It was impossible to do this on Sunday due to the wind.

I never imagined that I would have had the opportunity to put my theory into practise so soon, the following Tuesday I drew the very same peg! And his time the conditions were completely different, there was no wind and the water temperature had risen to 9 degrees actually reaching 10 degrees by the end of the match.

I was quite keyed up for this match wanting to forget all about the last one and I tackled up exactly as I detailed above. At the start I cupped in a few micros and maggots at 14 metres and some more up the shelf at 11 metres slightly to my left. I also fed a few 6mm pellets directly in front on me at the bottom of the shelf.

Roger Baker who was on Sunday’s winning peg was immediately into fish on the pole! I sat and watched a motionless float and it was a full hour before I had my first indication which I think was a liner, a short while later I had a small carp on double maggot. My next fish came sometime later on the five metre line on pellet and it was my last fish! I did bump a good bream and miss a bite on the feeder! I have to admit to being completely out of ideas on fishing this peg and I just hope that I don’t make it three in a row next Tuesday!

Overall the lake fished better, Roger Baker is now the new record holder at Gwinear phase one with a 49lb carp and bream based catch, the backing weights were around the 20lb and 30lb mark and I am sure it will improve as we learn the ways of the new Gwinear.

Well I am back on the road this weekend and travelling to Stafford Moor looking for a cool 2 grand in the Silver Festival. It’s a match that you have to win your section on Saturday to qualify for the winner take all final on Sunday. I just hope there are no Robins flying around the A30!

Below are some pictures of the new Gwinear, for those who know the lake. Click on any picture and a slideshow will open, allowing you to view the pictures in a higher resolution.