Van Den Eydne Festival, White Acres.

I cannot not hazard a guess as to how many festivals I have fished over the years at White Acres, I still enjoy them just as much as the very first one that I fished way back in the early nineties , The only problem is as I get older they come round faster and faster!

It doesn’t seem two minutes since we were all assembling for the draw in March 2007 and here we are again. This is about my festival, warts and all! All the winners and results are shown elsewhere on the site thanks to Kirsty and Tom.

The section draw is completed before the angler’s arrival on Friday morning so when you arrive on site you can plan any practising accordingly. The ritual reading of the sections is always a source of amusement to me in the bar on Saturday night. There always seems to be one section that on paper looks to be who’s who of commercial match aces. This year it is E section and it contains Steve and Phil Ringer, Harry Billing and William Raison to name four of the household names that are in that section, believe me there are many other very good anglers in with them, and all of the other sections for that matter.

I think it was Steve Ringer who coined the phrase ‘Section of Death’ a few years ago and this year that section is E, come to think of it is normally the section that Steve is in!
Well my section is B and it contains none other than chief fish catching magnet Des Shipp we also have Simon Fry and Daiwa Dorking’s Paul Filmore also known as ‘Sheep Dip’ My plan was very simple for the week just avoid Des and some of the other star names! My sequence of lakes was to be:

Monday Python and Jenny’s.
Tuesday Gwinear.
Wednesday Porth,
Thursday Bolingey.
Friday Match Lake.

Day 1 Python

Monday morning arrived and all 180 anglers arrive at the club house for day 1 draw there is always an expectant buzz around the place as we wait for Clint to read out the rules and get the festival underway. My turn for a dip and out comes peg 15 on Python I am really pleased with the draw as I have fished the peg before and had a result from it. I have Ken Oldham on my right and Colin Mulholland on my left for company.

My peg is about 40 metres wide importantly has some ‘stick ups’ against the island, I am the last peg with them and they extend about four pegs to my right. Over recent years they have been home to the ‘Cornish F1’s’ they look very much like a Carrassio, but down this way they are F1’s.

To target them I set up a small cage feeder with a .12 hook length and an 18’s 911. I also assembled the pole to fish At 13 metres and four metres. For the long line it was a half gram Cralusso Capri and the closer line a series 3 Tom Walter float. Both rigs were made up with the same .12 hook length to 18’s 911 hooks. Bait wise I had my gallon limit which was made up of 3 ½ pints of casters, ½ pint of maggot. 1 pint of hemp and the rest was corn and meat. I also had 2 kilos of green Swimstim ground bait and some worms.

All In!

At the start I cupped in some hemp and casters and a few grains of corn on the 13 metre line and loose fed casters close. I didn’t feed any ground bait as I knew that if it was a feeder day I would need all my limit for that line. I put on two red maggots and cast the feeder about a metre short of the stick up’s and within a minute or so I had my first F1. I had a really good start and was catching well, Colin and Ken were also catching. Colin s swim was slowly drying up as his fish retreated to the stick up’s. I managed to get a lead on Ken of about 10 fish but I felt he was catching up. I didn’t really want to take my eyes of my tip as the bites are unbelievably finicky from these fish. One bite can see the rod nearly off the rest and the next can be a very slight indication!
Memory Man

Half way through and I had a glance over my right shoulder and could see that Kens neighbour had come off the feeder and in effect given Ken a greater area to draw fish from. The match drew to a close and I was down to the last dregs of GB. Amazing all that bait and I used a small handful of maggots and 2 kilos of GB!

I had fished the feeder all match with the exception of a very brief and unproductive look on the inside pole line. Chatting to ‘memory man Ken’ after the whistle I mentioned to him that I thought he had won our battle. He said I had and unbelievably went on to say that I had 68 fish to his 67!

I found that quite amazing that he could not only count his own fish but mine as well! After about 10 fish my mind drifts off and I haven’t a clue on numbers. The scales arrived and Ken was first to weigh he recorded 53lb I pulled my net out and immediately knew it was going to be very close. After two weighs mine totalled 55lb a really close and enjoyable match that went right to the wire. The good news for me was that I won the section and came second overall in the match. 78lb was the top weight taken from Jennies.

So that was day one Des had won the other section from the narrows on Python. Elsewhere there were some fantastic weights especially from Bolingey with William Raison winning with 223lb!

Day Two – Gwinear

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this was going to be a difficult place to get good points. Draw and fish well and it was going to be an easy match, draw indifferently and it could be disaster. I stood in the queue behind Des and Sheep Dip. And just to quash any rumour that Des always draws flyers I saw him pull peg 4 from the bag, not good he would need all his skill to obtain a section win from that peg.

My turn and out of the hat came peg 14 I tried to convince myself that it was ok, but knew I was completely the wrong end of a very good section. Ken Oldham had drawn peg 25 and Mick Lees 24 both of these pegs are potential match winners to that add pegs 19 and 20 that are also in my section!

A look on the results board told me that my peg was a two pointer the day before with 28lb but a weight had come from peg 13 so there were some fish in the area. All you can do is play the cards that you are dealt and get on with fishing.

Bait wise I was undecided on what to take. Meat is normally not allowed at Gwinear but Charlie the owner allows it in festivals so that it is in line with all the other venues. I also knew that last year in the same festival that the fish were slow to respond to meat and that corn did the damage in the early matches. So that was it two pints of corn and meat and some hemp and maggots is what accompanied me t the peg.

The match unfortunately didn’t start as planned for me, I had decided to start on the feeder about 6 metres from the island as that is where I would have started on the pole if I was pegged on the island peg 33 or 34 which are opposite. No bites in the first 30 minutes was disappointing, as was my next line at 6 metres where I had been feeding corn, again no bites.

On about 45 minutes in I went on my long line at 14 ½ metres where I had potted small amounts of corn. At last a bite from a small stockie. This was followed by five more in the next 40 minutes. I could see all my section and Mick Lees on peg 24 was emptying the peg as was Ken Oldham on 25! Peg 20 was also showing a good account for himself as well. I kept going on in hope that they would turn up.
Change of plan

I had been feeding the inside line but all I could get was indications from roach. So I thought the only way I could attempt to salvage this match was if I fished up in the water in the hope of some better carp. I went out with a 4 x 10 Carpa 2 set at 3’ and started before no more bites pinging meat at the float. After two minutes I had a bite and was playing a 4 pounder. Another followed before another quite spell. Trying meat on the deck produced some more small carp. That was it I alternated up and down on the long line to end up with 48lb having taken 6 better fish shallow.

To my left Jeff Hope had 25lb and Ray Cormack on my right had 9lb. Mick Lees walked the section and the match with 137lb followed by Ken Oldham with 86lb and the guy on peg 20 with another 80lb. Two further 50lb weights in my section saw me plummet to sixth place. If only I had fished the meat earlier I know that I would have achieved fourth place. Sometimes a little too much knowledge can bite you in the bum!

Day 3 Porth

Porth had been showing its poor side so far this week with only 15 lb the best winning weight. Just to give you an idea as to how poor it was fishing there were loads of 1 to 3lb weights recorded. It was obviously suffering from the effects of the cold end to winter. I drew peg 17 in the first meadow which had not been the best section and again on paper was the wrong end.

I have not fished this peg for quite a few years and was surprised just how deep it was compared to pegs only two or three away to my right. I only had 1 gram rigs with me I don’t not know why but my bigger rigs were just not in my box. Plumbing at 12 metres I found the peg was still going away from me and that was with a rig that was nearly the length of a full top five!

At 6 metres I found about six foot but it was still on a slope. I set up a 4 x 16 Carpa Porth on this line to 0.08 hook length and a 20’s Preston PR34 hook. I also set up a ground bait feeder and a waggler. Weather wise it was very windy but just about manageable holding 12 metres. So on the whistle I fed 5 balls of sweet GB on the 12 metre line. I actually fed it at 11 hoping it would stop somewhere near to where I intended fishing! I also fed some at 6 metres.

I started fishing the feeder and was pleased to have a fish within five minutes it was a small skimmer, next put in and another, that was false hope as I had caught the shoal! No more bites for quite a long time. And to make matters worse the wind was now howling right to left! A try on the short pole resulted in a small roach, but it was a while before I found another. The wind was making it very hard to present bait properly. I stayed on this line for the majority of the match taking the odd roach and perch before they would back off. The waggler was a waste of time, it was very deep and hard to find what depth the fish were at. I never tried the feeder again as I could see everyone else in the section was struggling on that method. I have to admit I found this a very difficult match to sort out.
The match ended and the moment of truth came with Clint on the scales, I was last but one in the match to be weighed. 5lb 3oz was winning the section next door pulled out his fish and weighed 4lb 3oz. My turn and I was pleased to see the needle settle on 4lb 8oz for section second.

The festival leader is Will Raison with 3 section wins followed by Harry Billing on two wins plus a second.

Day 4 Bolingey.

Man, time flies at White Acres! Day four already and one that all 36 of us in B section were looking forward to. I was chatting to Simon Fry at the draw when I pulled out 19 we both thought it was a good draw in the section, Simon drew 9 not quite so good in the same section, or so we thought.

After the match we both learnt that my peg along with peg 12 had been moved into the next section! This is all above board and was done before the festival, both Simon and I were guilty of not taking note of the section numbers that are on display in the club house.

This in my opinion makes 19 not quite as strong in the section, in fact the way it is fishing it makes 19 one of the harder pegs but during the match I didn’t know this and thought I was doing ok, Doh. . Must pay more attention in future, it is important.

There was very little wind and the sun was shining, carp were cruising all over the place. I set up two rocket light wagglers as I thought it was going to be a waggler day, wrong! I gave it 30 minutes at the start without so much of an indication. Next onto the in method at the moment the meat feeder, that also didn’t work, I could see very little been caught which was worrying. I had previously fed a 14 metre line with meat and now I was giving that a try.

At least that worked and on the hour mark I had three in the net for about 15lb. Then bites dried up and I was forced to swop and change until the end of the match. I finished with 17 carp and weighed 86lb which was halfway in my new section.

I had had a problem with a snag in the swim which had cost me a couple of fish and feeders. But in hindsight I should have spent more time on the feeder. Thinking about the match afterwards I have come to the conclusion that I didn’t give this one my best shot and despite what I said earlier about the peg, on the day it was worth much more.

The match was won with 119lb from hot peg 20 on my left and I was only 35lb away from winning sounds a bit, but at Bolingey it can be a couple of fish.

I was in 32nd place on weight yesterday with 21 points (the highest weight with 21 points was 24th place) Not sure what has happened today as I have not been to the club house but I do know that I need a result on the last day to get into the top 50 and qualify for the Parkdean masters in October.

Day 5 Match Lake

Well it didn’t happen I could not pull the high bank out of the bag! Peg 12 was to be my home for the day. Normally a good section peg, with 13 the better one. No chance of individual glory so it was try and enjoy the days fishing. I decided to have a silvers day, but have the first 20 minutes on the meat feeder looking for a carp. I set up two .75 gram Capri’s to fish at 13 metres and two .5 gram Capri’s to fish at about 5 metres. Plus an edge rig. Bait was 3 pints of casters and some meat and corn, two kilos of green Swimstim GB and some worms.

At the whistle I was very positive and fed four large balls of GB on the 13 metre line, the balls just fitted into a 250 ml cup. There was some casters chopped worm and meat in the balls. Two smaller balls went on the 5 metre line.

I had my time on the feeder without a bite so I was onto the pole. It was slow but there were some indications and before long I had a large hybrid on double maggot. Swopping and changing between my lines I put a few fish in the net in the first couple of hours, but was not on for a weight. Ken Oldham to my right was also getting a few skimmers but was also on the slow side. I felt I was going nowhere and as a few carp had been caught in the section had to do something.

I decided to feed more GB and also loose feed heavier. This had a great effect as bites became more positive and I started putting a good few skimmers in the net mainly caught on small bits of meat and worm as a change bait. The last hour saw Ken go down the edge and he had three big carp. I just stayed on the skimmers as I was really enjoying catching them!

The match ended and the results show that the section fished brilliant, it is normally a difficult section but today the lowest weight in the section was 25lb. Des Shipp on peg 2 really showed his class by winning with 80lb he had 40lb of silvers and 40lb of carp.

Second was Ken Oldham with 65lb including his three carp that went 35lb. Third place was Pete Wild with 56lb with six carp plus silvers and I had 44lb of silvers. Elsewhere on the lake Sheep Dip took the honours with 108lb.

Well that is the end of the VDE William Raison fished brilliantly to win his sixth Cornish Festival that is some going, well done mate. Grant Albutt second followed by Neil Machin and Darren Cox.

I finished a little lower down the field in 57th place with 27 points but hopefully the good news for me is that will probably be enough to get into the Parkdean as there will anglers above me that will not take their places or qualify again on other festivals. A little more effort on a couple of days and I could have nicked the 1 point I needed to get into the top 50. I will try again though on the other two festivals to make sure I qualify.

Just a little reminder to those travelling to the other festivals, read the rules and make sure you understand them as there were a couple of anglers that got themselves disqualified for having too much bait with them at their pegs.

Well done the staff at White Acres for putting on a great week and thanks to Van Den Eynde for sponsoring the festival. Clint announced that they will be sponsoring the festival again next year under their sister companies name of Baitech which is good news for the festival angler. Whilst I am on the thanks, it was great to meet some of the anglers that read my ramblings on the website, thanks for your comments they are appreciated.
Fishomania Viaduct

In 2007 I went to Viaduct for the qualifier and drew peg 7 on Spring Lake, it is a corner peg with a big bush to your left which means you cannot get down to where the fish are in the corner, it was solid and I could not reach them. I had to sit all day and watch Tommy Pickering on peg 8 catch nearly 90lb and lose a load in the lily pads! Nothing he could have done about the loses they either stay on or come out of the snags. That day I caught one carp.

On Saturday I made my second visit to the place for this year’s qualifier I found myself near the back of the queue of 130 anglers. When I drew I was gobsmacked to see peg 8 in my hand, when it dawned on me I was a little excited and there were dreams of a place in the final! That was until I got to the lake and saw the colour of the water, it was a funny shade of green and too clear especially for an out and out edge peg! You really do have to draw the right peg ON the right day.

Never mind I had to be positive and believe me I was. I set up two margin rigs. These were strong and stronger! KC Carpa Shelf in line floats were my choice. One rig had a .20 Silstar straight through to a 14’s Fox Series 2 hook and the other was .22 line to a 12! Bait was 6 pints of casters (Just coming from the festival I was given a load, thanks to Michael Sanders).

Two tins of corn and some 8 and 11 mm pellets. I also set a 2 gram rocket light waggler to fish into the corner past my pole swim which was at 14 metres to my right hand margin. I fished it sensibly on the inside for two hours on the pole I had one fish on briefly but lost it in the lily pads. I had been pinging 11 mm pellets towards the boards in the corner all match. The wind was strong and in my face and I could not get 8 mm pellets the 25 metres!

On the two hour mark I put the remainder of my casters on my pole line with a few grains of corn. I then gave it 15 minutes on the waggler and alternated this with the pole every 15 minutes until the end of the match. I never had another bite! Was it too much bait? In my opinion no, this is a winner take all match and I had a potential winning peg. Spring Lake was fishing woeful and a section prize was the last thing on my mind.

Dave Swain Mosella Garbolino is this years first qualifier, well done and good luck in the final.

Two trips to Viaduct = 600 miles I have fished two adjacent pegs and caught one carp, maybe this is not my venue!!

That’s it for me I am having a week off fishing, I need to sort my gear out and get a little work done before I start getting ready for the Dynamite Baits and Milo Festivals, I cannot wait!