I managed to sneak out for the last chance open at Gwinear on New Years Eve and it was an absolute belter to end the decade with. We had enjoyed a mild spell for around a week so I thought we might have a chance of a good days fishing however, it was much better than any of us expected. We were fishing on phase Two and Three with anglers spread around the lakes. I had my dip and pulled out peg 40 on phase Two, I didn’t exactly jump for joy when I realised where it was, not that I had fished the peg before but I have not seen a winning weight from the area previously. To be fair I had plenty of room so I remained hopeful. In any event it was nice to be out in the fresh air having been off the bank for over a week.
My best mate
On a lot of venues the plummet should be your best friend and it is vitally important at Gwinear. I had a good plumb around and found a huge bar to my left where the water was around 5’ at 12.5m straight in front of me at the same distance I had around 7’ of water and it was these two lines that I decided to tackle. On the shallower line I had a 4 x 12 J12 float and a .5 gram Cralusso Capri was the choice for he deeper swim. I had already made up my mind to fish with maggot on the hook so I had a size 20 T213 hook on each rig to a .10 hook length. I was going to feed a mixture of garlic flavoured micros and maggots via the kinder pot, as a change bait I had some soft Candy White hook pellets with me.
At the all in I sprinkled a bit of bait on both my lines and started in the deeper water with double red on the hook out of the corner of my eye I saw Chas Ward playing a carp on the feeder, I just got the words jammy sod out of my mouth when my float shot under! As I played the small mirror to the net ex old Gwinear legend Clive Carter was playing his first fish on the waggler! Oh Man, what was going to be the best method today? I think within 5 minutes everybody on the pool had a fish in the net. Clive was soon into another and so was I, it looked like we were in a race rather than a winter fishing match!
Moan them on
The first 90 minutes were brilliant with fish coming on a regular basis all to the maggot, I think I had around 18 in that time some were of a good stamp pushing 3lb; they are certainly starting to pack on some weight in their first year. Clive was still catching well and we were reasonably close but going into the second hour things started to slow down. I suppose it was only to be expected but not exactly what was wanted! I found that the only way to get a fish was to moan them on! By giving it a good dose of ‘I cannot buy a bite’ and other choice expressions I managed to get a couple of spells of catching again. It’s amazing how often it works but you have got to know how to do it correctly, too much moaning just doesn’t work!
The last two hours were slow for me with only a couple of carp and a few skimmers, Clive managed to keep them coming on the waggler and finished the match with around 40 carp which went 70lb which ironically was exactly the same weight as Harry Billing who was on peg 27 on Phase 3 so for the last match of the decade we had joint winners! My 25 plus fish went just short of 50lb and I even managed to nick the section money. It really was a good match for the middle of winter and bodes well for the spring and summer
Search the peg
I caught my fish equally from both lines and some of them came by using the shallower rig in the deeper water which just goes to show that you have to search all through your swim even at this time of year. I have to learn though how to keep them coming all through the match, I have had this happen to me a few times at Gwinear a good start and a poor finish. I did try the feeder but never had a bite on it. Perhaps the waggler is the answer? I will have to experiment next year!
Winter League
Saturday was the latest round of the Kernow Match Group teams of three winter league which was to be held on Twin Oaks at White Acres. We woke to a freezing morning and a very heavy frost, the first since before Christmas and the hardest of the year. When I arrived at WA it was not looking good as most of the lakes were frozen, it was touch and go as to whether or not the match would go ahead as there is a no ice breaking policy at this fishery, the only exception to this rule is if the ice can be broken by the angler using his pole. Organiser Pete Thomas walked the fishery and managed to find three sections that were reasonably ice free. I was pleased to hear that we had a match to fish, some of the sections had cat ice but it wouldn’t take long to clear.
I did the team draw and Andy Partridge was allocated peg 26 on Python narrows, Skip McCabe was on Sycamore 11 and I had 27 on Twin Oaks, we were not unhappy with the draw and after a 10 second team chat we were on our way, the talk was to the effect of lets do a bit better than last time guys! We certainly couldn’t do much worse than the last round when we were stone last, that was for sure. My peg was one of those with ice but it didn’t take long to clear as the sun was out and it was already starting to melt. It really was a fantastic morning, everywhere was white with frost and there wasn’t a cloud over White Acres consequently it felt quite warm.
With the experience gained from the recent winter festival I guessed that it was going to be a long pole match today, I only rigged up for silvers using a .5 gram SPRO Roach float which is pencil shaped, I had a .8 Xedion hook length to a 20’s hook. I was concerned though as to whether or not the carp would show, so I also set up a straight lead, the ice was thin enough for my line to cut through it, plus I was sure it was going to melt all over the lake well before the end of the match. I also set up a Rocket Light waggler as a ‘just in case’ method, Twin Oaks high numbers has just received a stocking of F1’s and I kind of hoped that they would be on the far bank and that a wag and mag approach would snare a few.
At the all in I fed one small ball of Yorkshire Baits Green Betaine ground bait containing a few pinkies and some casters. My plan was to feed a hard ball every other put in via a kinder pot so I had some feed falling through the water most of the time. The GB that I was using is very fine with little feed content so I was confident of not over feeding the fish and at the same time I hoped to find some skimmers. I gave it 5 minutes without a bite and had a speculative cast with corn on a straight lead over the far side hoping for a carp. After about 10 minutes my next door neighbour Boz Phillips had a decent Roach on the pole and that tempted me back on the pole.
A net of footballers
My first bite was from a chunky perch of around 6oz and I was pleased when a few more followed on single red maggot. After an hour or so I had a good roach it was turning into a good match with all of us catching a few fish. After a couple of hours I had a big skimmer which was the first of five. In the end I had a cracking net of fish which pulled the needle round to 15lb 14oz which I was pleased with especially as it won the section. Roger Cannock was second with around 13lb which included a 5lb Mirror and Boz to my left had a nice net of roach that went 10lb.
We are sorry
Back at the Lodge I found my team mates waiting for me they were trying to explain how they had both come last in the section after trying very hard. Little did they know that I had a call telling me that Andy had won the rock hard Python section with 3lb8oz and Skip was second with around 10lb on Sycamore, Harry Billing winning that section and the match with 21lb. Not that there are any prizes for individual results but my weight put me second on the day. What was important to us though was that we had redeemed ourselves and won the round from the KMG three. A little late in the series but it certainly made us feel better!
Individual league
Sunday and we were back at White Acres for the Individual league the weather was again freezing and some lakes frozen I was really hoping that we would be fishing. Soon Clint announced that the match was going ahead on the Match Lake and Python narrows I must admit that I was immediately praying to the fishing gods not to let me draw Python – I wasn’t geared up for a scratching match!
I had my dip in that bag of dreams and I really didn’t want to look at the ticket. But it had to be recorded and I turned it over to see 33 Python staring back at me! To say I wasn’t impressed was an understatement and I did give it the big moan! I felt a little better when I saw the section sheet and realised that I was on the end peg but I was not looking forward to fishing for 3 -4lb, I have mentioned before we are spoilt in this neck of the woods!
Punished for winning?
I couldn’t believe it to my right I had Skip McCabe and to his right was Andy Partridge that will teach us to win the winter league round! What about Andy? Python twice on the trot and within a peg of yesterday he must have run over a flock of Robins last week!
I knew that yesterday most of the anglers fed quite negatively with the odd loose fed pinkie so I made the decision to feed the peg similarly to Twin Oaks. I mixed up my GB on the dry side as I wanted it to fall through the water in a wide column breaking up near the surface. As my peg is only around 12.5m wide I was going to concentrate down the track and have a couple of back up lines just in case. Five metres to my right was some lily pads that was going to get a pinch of chopped worm and a couple of pinkies and over, just down the slope I was going to loose feed pinkies.
Surprise, surprise
I stated with the chopped worm and didn’t have a bite on that line. In fact it was 50 minutes into the match when I had my first bite from down the middle, I don’t now who was more surprised me at getting a bite or the 10oz skimmer with a size 22 green gama in it’s top lip! It was a good fish to get as it really got me interested as skimmers of that size are rarely on their own. Within the next 15 minutes I had three more in the net slightly smaller samples but it was encouraging. The next 1 ½ hours were really good and a 3lb bream and a pound plus F1 along with a few roach and some more skimmers found the single maggot or double pinkie hook bait. Unfortunately the last 90 minutes were really poor and that coincided with the very cold easterly wind getting stronger, man it was freezing!
My fish weighed 11lb 4oz which was good enough for a section win. Andy Partridge was second with 2lb 9oz so once again it was a struggle. I’m not sure if I got it right or I just landed on a shoal of fish but I was cuffed with the result. I must admit there is something in this moaning about your peg business perhaps I shall have to try it a little more often!
Overall
Elsewhere the Match Lake fished really well considering the weather, there were several weights in the mid twenties made up of silvers and carp. The recent stocking of F1’s also put in an appearance with several coming to the feeder on the high bank. But once again Harry Billing won the match outright with an impressive 46lb from peg 29 his third match win on the trot!
Personally I had a really good end to the noughties and the first two matches of the new decade were great. It’s nice when you get a run of results, it makes up for those periods of time when the draw bag deserts you and everything you try goes wrong. But what made my weekend was getting home to a great lunch and watching my beloved Leeds take on Manchester United in the FA cup third round. I had purposefully not had the radio on the way home so it was like watching it live. What a game, one of the best I have watched in a long time. The only thing that spoilt it was the Man United camp saying they didn’t play well. What a load of rubbish you played really well, you were just outclassed on the day! Now then you Spurs fans be afraid, be very afraid!
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now stu hows things mate???? whats the f1 stocking situation on the lakes now sir???
Thanks for the comments on this and the last blog, Happy New Year to you all. Sorry been a it slow in responding . There will be no fishing for me this weekend as everything is solid with around 5′ of ice! It’s practically unheard of down here. Joe I have put a post on the forum which details the stocking at White Acres.
could u give me directions 2 whiteacres from manchester cheers
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Stewart
