The Dreaded Third Net…

Saturday morning was one f those days when you just want to get out fishing, it was a beautifully sunny day with a nice cool breeze, it was blowing straight down the bottom lake at Trewater’s Farm towards the car park. The lake had a bit of colour and the odd fish was topping, it really looked good and I couldn’t wait to get started. Pete Thomas was also keen to start as he had just taken delivery of his new pole, we had been hearing about it for ages and now he finally had it on the bank, he was telling everybody he could how many tops it had and how good it was. Oh man was he pleased about his new baby, I just couldn’t help but put his name down on the draw sheet as G10!

End peg re visited

I don’t like drawing my own peg when I run a match so I asked Mark Lazell to pull the first one out for me and was delighted when he showed me peg 53 the same peg I had fished in the recent weekend festival, I just hoped the wind didn’t change direction today!

I knew exactly what I was doing today paste on two lines and a shallow rig was all I set up and I couldn’t wait to get going. The match started and I fed a ball of Green Betaine and some micro pellets at 6m and fed some 4mm pellets down the edge where I started, I dropped in with a fingernail size piece of paste on the hook and waited for the first bite, and I waited! After about 10 minutes or so all I had to show was one indication which I had missed. I went to the six metre line with the same bait and again waited for a bite, eventually I hooked a lively carp of about a pound but no more bites followed.

Mr White Pellet

I could see that Mark Lazell opposite me was not getting that many fish and a glance over towards Harry Billing revealed that he was not in his normal sacking mode. I asked my next peg neighbour John Forster how he was doing and he surprised me by saying that he had 10 fish! I just couldn’t understand why only John seemed to be catching; perhaps there is something in those in those silly white pellets he uses!

Keeping on the 6m line and I missed a few bites before I eventually hooked a small F1 as I put it in the net I looked around and saw John playing a big fish. I really should not have been so positive at the start and maybe eased my way into the match with soft pellets. I reached for my shallow rig and shipped out to 11m, well over 45 minutes had elapsed by now and I needed to make something happen. I had been thinking of getting on this line for sometime but for some reason or other I didn’t change. I don’t know why but sometimes I am guilty of not adapting to situations quickly enough and today was a prime example.

On the surface

Pinging 4mm pellets at my float and I soon started getting some indications and more importantly i started putting some fish into the net. The line never really got fast and furious but I just plodded along getting fish in small bursts of twos and threes before waiting awhile for another series of bites, I knew the fish were shallow so I stayed on this line until the end of the match. The last hour was again slow and I guess I only put 10 fish in the net during that time.

The scales started on the other bank and by the time they got to me the news was that Harry was winning the lake with 60lb; the next weight was around 40lb. My two weighs left me agonisingly close with around 57lb and once again I kicked myself all the way back to the car park! It is fantastic fishing really, I felt that I wasn’t catching that much and yet had 57lb to show for my efforts all caught in about 3 ½ hours of the match. I would be dangerous if I could catch for five hours!

Porth

Sunday saw me at Porth Reservoir for the SW super league practice match; it was nice to be back as it is in a stunning location, we really do not fish this place enough. I wasn’t sure how it was going to approach this match as I had a vital bait ingredient missing! I had no casters with me. I had been away in London most of the previous week visiting relatives and a bit of business and I forgot to get some shells! Never mind I was keen to give it a go with worms and maggot just to see what happened.

I drew peg 94 which was the end peg on the far bank an area I had not fished for a very long time, somehow I expected to draw the meadow as that is where I always seem to be in the festivals. It was great putting the gear in the boat knowing it was going to be dropped off around peg 90 it really is the only way to walk around Porth! On my first every trip to Porth some 20 years ago there was no boat and I remember drawing the far side, with age then on my side and a lot less tackle, I still to this day remember how hard that walk was! I for one am so pleased that SW Lakes provide this service for us on matches these days.

The reservoir looked great with a tinge of colour I have to admit that it looked very fishy. I planned on fishing two pole lines one at 6m and the other at 13m each line was going to receive a few balls of Mosella All Round Select and some dead maggots plus the obligatory chopped worms. The wind was blowing towards the dam and unfortunately the tow was going in the same way.

I started on my 6m line and had a bite first put in, it was a dumpy roach of about 2oz I swung it to hand, or I tried to but it came off the hook just before it reached my hand! Never mind I was back in and catching small roach and skimmers. The line slowed after 30 minutes or so and it received another ball of GB whilst I had a look long. A skimmer first go was hopeful but I had to wait for bites on that line.

War zone

Unfortunately for us the army were playing war games in the nearby woods and all day I could hear the double tap of their rifles as they fired at an imaginary enemy. I am taking some panadol before next week’s match just in case they have another go my head was splitting with the constant sound of rifle shots!

The fishing was good to say that it hadn’t been fished for ages; I managed to keep fish coming by swopping between lines and it was enjoyable. I tried the waggler but just could not make it work, the tow didn’t help as the float was running through like it was on a river. There was enough fish to be caught on the pole though but I do wish that I had made the effort to get some casters as I think it would have made a big difference.

And another thing!

The scales came and I was last to weigh 12lb odd was winning the section, I put my fish in the net and because of the other anglers crowded around the scales I could not see the dial. The scales man said 11lb 1oz to which another angler said no it’s less and he started to read the scales. After some deliberation 10lb 15oz was announced as my weight. It transpires that the angler who queried my weight had weighed 11lb exactly. Personally I think it is well out of order when people start influencing the scales, they should just let the person who has been given the task call out the weight, as he has done for everyone else in the section. As it happened it didn’t matter at all as this was an individual match but it my opinion it is wrong and I will be watching out for it next week in the team match.

The reservoir fished really well with 20lb winning from the early 40’s and some great back up weights from that side of the lake.

Nice bug

I really have the fishing bug bad at the moment and Tuesday was the next time I could take my medicine, so out of necessity I booked in for the Gwinear open. There were 24 fishing and we were to be spread equally over the three lakes the payout was to be 1st and 2nd on each lake which is a good idea, you are in effect fishing a small match but feel like it is much larger!

I had my dip and out came peg 44 on phase one judging by one or two comments I guessed it was in a pretty good area! I have not drawn anywhere near here before and I guess as far as old peg numbers go, I would be sitting just off the island where peg 31 would have fished to at 16 metres! Plumbing around confirmed this to me as straight in front of me it is very shallow, certainly a lot shallower than my next peg neighbour Kevin Polhill.

I settled on three lines 13m in about 4’ of water, 5m where it was just over 3’ and an edge swim to my left. Bait was going to be pellets and maggots. I also made some paste from Yorkshire Baits Green Betaine I fancied fishing this down the edge. I had no one to my right so I also set up a feeder rod so that I could fish towards the bank.

The odd skimmer

I started at 5m feeding micros and a few maggots but didn’t have any bites from that line. I had been feeding by catapult long and tried my hand shallow for 5 minutes again with no result. Going down on the deck I had a few skimmers and as not much else was been caught on the lake I stuck with them, probably catching about 5 – 6lb of them, I managed one small carp as well. Kevin to my left started catching the odd carp shallow and I followed on that method landing an early one and losing a couple of foul hooked fish. There were plenty of fish cruising but it was hard to concentrate them on one line.

I had a go on the feeder and was rewarded with one fish, after 10 minutes or so I was back on the pole but this time down the edge at about the halfway stage of the match. I had a good run of four fish three around the 6lb mark and a small one before that dried up. Trying the feeder again resulted in three smaller samples but it was amazing as soon as the feeder hit the water it went around immediately but after the third there was nothing there! Back down the edge and I had a couple more.

The dreaded third net

With 50 minutes to go I guessed that I had approaching 50lb in the carp net and as you are not allowed to mix silvers with carp I had to walk back to get another one of the fishery keep nets. Expecting a few down the edge in that last little spell I was quickly back at the peg, I could have saved myself the walk as I didn’t have another fish! I did lose two that were fouled but wetted a third net for nothing.

It all ended well though as I managed 55lb to beat Kevin by 5lb I was convinced that he had more than me, he did have more fish but it just shows how important those bigger edge fish are plus those few skimmers caught when it was quiet.

Well my next two matches are at Porth Reservoir in the Super League I’m looking forward to the weekend but this time I will have those important casters with me!