King Of The Road!

 I’ve finally managed to get my blog up to date following a quiet couple of days at work! Apologies if some of the stuff seems a little outdated, but as I explained in my last post I have been here there and everywhere over the last month or so!

In the penultimate round of the Carterhall Evening series I drew peg 12, which people who follow my blog will recall is a peg I have drawn before this summer on the day I forgot my pole!

Now that day I managed second in the match with just over 20lb, so I hoped that with my own gear I could go one better and win the match!

Young Jake Dye had different ideas however, as he not only beat me into third place behind him and Sir Matt, but also set a new venue record in the process, beating my old 35lb best with a 37lb effort, made up entirely of silver fish!

Things never really got going for me to be honest, the wind was blowing down the other end of the lake and I can’t help but think that the majority of fish followed the wind down the lake. Matt was lucky to beat me- a carp touching double figures helping boost his net, and boy did he enjoy rubbing my nose in it, even though he had to give me half his winnings!

Golden Years

On the following Sunday, we decided on a trip to Little John Lakes to fish the open match. Our mate Tony Caley had been doing the business in the matches there with a chopped worm approach, so we decided to make this our main plan of attack with meat, and the newly allowed method feeder as our back up methods.

We drew next to each other in the middle of the lake , on two pegs which Tony described as ‘the two best pegs on the lake’. No pressure then!

The 5 metre line with worms was the starting point for both of us, as normally you can catch a few ide here while the carp lines settle. This didn’t quite go according to plan however, as we both waited about ten minutes for a bite, and then caught carp on it!

It was neck and neck for the first hour, but I could see Ben Holmes bagging up down the lake, so I decided to break ranks and go on the method. Frustratingly I had three fish come off in my first three casts, before snaring a couple, but soon after the line seemed to die, almost as if the fish were backing off my feeder.

Matt was having no such problems however, and was now bagging on the pole. With us sharing our winnings, I didn’t see the point in hammering the same lines as him, and with him fishing long I just stuck to my guns on the short line, and fed the margin with meat late on. I caught fairly well in the last hour, ending up with 30 carp for 48lb, which was good enough for fifth overall and £30 in section money.

I was totally outclassed by Sir Matt on the next peg however who had 103lb to win the match! It was double joy for him as until that day he had never broken the tonne barrier in the in a match before. To make it triple joy, he pulled the golden peg out the hat after match, meaning we got another £100 to boot, giving us £230 to share out- most welcome!

The Grand Finale!

The following Thursday night saw the last of the Thursday night evening matches at Carterhall Fishery at Charnock. With it being the last match of the series, we were fishing for the golden peg money, and also made it £20 a man so we could have a mystery pairs alongside the main payout. We put every peg on the lake in, and for the first time ever at the venue I drew one of the few pegs where you have no island to fish up to.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but decided to put all my eggs in one basket and opt for a shallow attack. It worked a treat, and soon big ide were coming to the net. They soon stopped however, and I was left scratching my head. Despite going right out to 16 metres in an attempt to snare them, I just couldn’t seem to keep fish coming. I ended up swapping to a heavy rig to try and catch some carp, but even they didn’t want to know.

I ended up fourth out of 12 with 24lb. Gary Dodsworth won the match and took the golden peg spoils with 28lb 15oz. Luckily, Matt and Jake drew together in the mystery pairs, and there weight was enough to win so we didn’t go home empty handed.

Jollys!

The following night was the start of a weeks holiday for us both, and we started off by popping down to see Vic Bush of Mosella, who had got some bait for us to pick up. He lives in a gorgeous village called Catcott which is set deep in the Somerset Levels.

After a nice evening with Vic, and a morning spent looking around Avalon Fishery which he co owns, it was off down to Cornwall to meet up with Matts family who were already on holiday down there.

We went pleasuring the next day on Python, and caught a shed load of F1’s and big skimmers, as well as having a fun match which entailed me and Matts sister battling Matt and his sisters friend on fish count. Needless to say we battered them!

Gold Match

We stopped that night with Jakes family on site at White Acres, as we were planning to fish the gold match next day. I drew peg 33 on Twin Oaks, which is on the wrong side, as the big weights generally come from the early numbers. Matt was similarly disappointed with peg 21, but Jake was relatively happy on peg 11.

I planned to fish a method feeder for the majority of the match before switching to a meat line short in the last hour. I caught really quickly at the start, having perhaps 10 carp in the net at the end of the first hour, things soon quietend off however, and for the next two hours things were really quiet, and only took perhaps three fish per hour on the method.

The fourth hour was frankly dire, but from what I could see there wasn’t a great deal being caught so I knew I had to stick to my guns. I started feeding my meat line really heavily, in the hope of making something happen.

I went on it at the start of the last hour, and caught a run of good skimmers, probably averaging a pound a piece. In the last 20 minutes, the big boys moved in and I was pleased to take a further three carp around 6lb a piece.

When the scales arrived 25lb was winning the section, and my 64-2-0 was comfortably enough to secure the section money, though the chap to my left weighed nine bigger fish for 49lb to run me close. The section money was all it was enough to win though unfortunately, as the early numbers all bagged up. Sir Matt and Jake both struggled, with Matt weighing 20lb and Jake weighing just over 50lb. It was my turn to carry Sir Matt for a change!

On The Beach!

The next day we decided a day on the beach was in order, and after a bit of body boarding and an ice cream, we decided to try and catch the elusive mullet that live in the river. I have never caught them before, so was delighted that on my first run down with a piece of bread on the hook I caught one about 10oz, Matt however was none too impressed, as he had had the first two run downs and hadn’t had a bite!

We ended up with 20 or so fish in just a couple of hours between me, Matt and his sister. It was brilliant!

Burning Issue

My day on the beech had a predictable, if at the time undetectable aftermath. A few hours after I came off I was in agony and I would say 60% of my body was the same colour as a lobster!

There was a bit of sea breeze, so I didn’t feel like I was getting burnt, but boy was I regretting not putting any suntan cream on!

Larford

On the Wednesday we set sail for Larford, with the intention of having a few days practise prior to the Maver Pairs Final that weekend. I have detailed all about our practise sessions at Larford, and our result in the pairs final itself in my last blog, so I won’t bore you with the same stuff again.

Picking up from where I left off last time, Sunday saw us fish the British Pole Pairs Championships, and after a good result the day before, we were both eager to build on it.

Matt was happy with his draw of peg 70 on the specimen lake, next to the peg which Stewart won the lake off the previous day. I drew peg 63 on the Match Lake, and talking to a few people it sounded like a short and shallow extraction was to be the key to success. The peg I was on came seventh in section the previous day, and from what I was told I would have my work cut out to beat the pegs to my left.

I started off shallow, and had a couple of small skimmers, then a big F1. The problem was it was slow progress, I was having to wait probably 10 mintues for a bite, and I wasn’t convinced I was catching quickly enough. Still, I plugged away at it for the first four hours of the match, as I couldn’t see a great deal else being caught. I kept feeding my meat line on a top four in the hope of an extraction late on. I tried it for 15 minutes at the start of the last hour and didn’t have a bite, so it was back out shallow. Two more F1’s and we were into the last fifteen minutes, I thought another look short was wise. I caught a small common carp about 1lb, and a hybrid to end up with 27 fish. I hadn’t got a clue where this would put me in the 12 peg section, as I could see the anglers either side of me, and though I felt I had beaten these I had some good anglers further up my section in the shape of Harry Billing, Simon Fry, James Dent and Andrew Morley.

When the scales arrived I was surprised to weigh 29 kilos 500 grams, as I didn’t feel I had that much. This was enough to take the lead in the section right up to James Dent who weighed 30 kilos 100 grams to pip me into second. If only I had fished shallow all match and not bothered with that short line. Gutted!

Still, it was all to no avail anyway as Matt had struggled on the specimen lake, where the other end of the section had fished a lot better than it did the previous day. We couldn’t grumble with a bad ‘un though after the result we had the previous day!

Pole Champs

The following Sunday was another pole only match at Lindholme Lakes, a qualifier for the UK Pole Championships. I drew peg 27 on Oasis, which is a good peg if the wind is blowing up that way- and it had been blowing the other way for the past week! I spoke to Lee Kerry before the start of the match and he was far from optimistic, having drawn down my end of the lake the previous day and struggled to compete with the early pegs.

I caught well on the pole with meat down the track to start with, but they were small fish. I didn’t really have a choice but to fish there however, as the wind was making it very difficult to present bait any further out. I wasn’t too despondent however, as the last three times I have fish this late I have caught really well late on on a short line on worms.

It didn’t work, to cut a long story short, and I wasted an hour on it for three skimmers a tench and a big F1. The wind had dropped a bit by now, so I decided to try cupping a great big pot of meat in up to the far bank, as I wanted to catch proper carp now, I didn’t feel F1’s would be any good to me. No sooner had I got my pole cup back to hand and I could see tails up in the air. Straight back over with a rig on and I hooked one, slipping the net under a 6lber seconds later. No more tails so another big pot followed. No more tails, and a biteless five minutes followed. That, as they say was that.

I ended up with 49lb, which was good enough for 3rd in my section of 12- but essentially no good, as they only pay the top two in the section. Oh, and to make matters worse, I qualified for the Pole Champs final as the two people above me in the section aren’t in the pole champs, but I can’t make it as I’m in Malia, so all in all a frustrating day. Sir Matt was back to his usual good form though, and came third overall securing us fifty beer tokens between us. Not a few weeks all in all.

It’s the Little John Festival this weekend, I will let you know how we get on.