The big day eventually came round, the Angling Times Winter League Semi Final!!! Myself and the rest of the team, Triana North (TEAM UGLY), had put hours of practice in at Browning Cudmore, as well as lots of hard preparation. After team meetings and many phone calls, it was time for our plan of attack to be put to the test!
There were nine teams of ten in the competition, with the top three qualifying for the winter league final which is fished on the river Nene at Peterborough, and is recognised as one of the biggest team matches on the calendar. The match would be spread across nine lakes, with one section on each. We had come up with a consistent team plan for the six new pools on the complex, but found the canal style lakes differed so much that we would leave it up to the angler’s themselves on them lakes to do the damage.
The team captain, Brian Hawks, did the draw, and I was relieved to be on new pool 3, a lake that I had fished on twice in practice, although I wasn’t in a very good area. The basic plan was to feed three lines on the pole. The first would be a bloodworm and joker line, between 9 and 11m, where 5 balls of leam and groundbait containing joker and casters would be cupped in. this was just a backup line to catch a few fish on if it was hard. The next line was the important one, where we hoped we could spend the majority of the match catching fish.
This would be placed at 13m, and fed with a ball of the fisheries own crushed pellets as well as maggots and casters. It was also important to be patient and build this line up by regularly feeding a few maggots and casters via a kinder pot, as well as the magic crushed pellet dust. Here we were planning to catch everything, skimmers, carp, f1’s, roach, tench and even barble! The last pole line was placed at 16m, and fed with micro pellets and corn, but only small amounts through a kinder pot.
This line was aimed at catching the bigger mirrors and carp on corn or pellet. We would however, spent the first hour on tip, with either bomb and corn, or a small groundbait feeder cast to the far bank. This would give the other pole lines time to settle and give us the chance of snaring a bonus fish straight away. Tom Scholey took me down, as he had offered to do some bank running, and had done well on the venue running up to the match. He was watching my lake all day, and did a great job of keeping me informed on what was happening around me.
I set up a variety of rigs to cover my lines. The bloodworm rig was a 0.3gram Jean François on 0.10 line to a 0.07 bottom and 20 gamakatsu green hook with a 1-5 elastic. I then set two rigs up for the 13m line. The first was a 4×12 Carpa Chimp, on 0.10 main line to a 0.08 hooklength and a size 22 middy 63-13 hook with a number 6 solid elastic. It was shotted with spread bulk at half depth and 4 number 12 droppers.
I was hoping to catch most of my fish on this rig, but also set up a heavier 4×14 version up, with a 0.10 bottom a 20 B911 and 9 hollo elastic for bagging. The rig for the 16m line was set up exactly the same as the bagging rig for the 13m line, but had a bulk and 2 number 10 droppers. All the rigs were set to fish 2 inch over depth in the gusty conditions.
ALL IN!!!
The 5 hour match started, and I fed all my pole lines as planned. I started on the bomb with hair rigger corn cast three quarters of the way across. I had a few liners in the first half hour, but no fish. There was only one carp caught in the section, the guy to my left, who had it on the feeder to he far bank. He then caught a second shortly after, which prompted me to try it. I filled a grip-mesh feeder with crushed pellet an a few grains of corn, and cast tight to the peg opposite. Two others in the section now had a carp, but at around the hour mark the tip nodded round and a feisty F1 around 2lb was in the net.
Phew…pressure off a bit!!! No more followed, so it was time to get on ‘the line!’. I baited up the 4×12 rig with a single red maggot, shipped out to 13m and tapped the maggots, casters and crushed pellets from the kinder pot. The float buried and a 3oz roach was swung in. A run of these dumpy fish followed, before I hooked something that shot off to the other side! I assumed the fish was foul hooked, so I took my time on 0.08 and a soft 6 elastic. After 10 nervous minutes I ad the fish on the top kit, and managed to just scoop up a foul hooked 5lb mirror as the hooklength snapped!
It was blooming lucky! For he next two hours I stayed on this line, and although sport wasn’t mad, I kept a steady run of skimmers to 1lb½ and dumpy roach coming. Tom had been watching the rest of the section, and the odd person had 4 or 5 carp, but he though I was well up, so I stuck at it. I managed another F1 of this line, a bit smaller than the first, but things slowed with an hour to go. The guy to the other side had three carp in as many casts, so I dropped in a nugget of crushed pellet and tried the feeder with corn again for half an hour.
This didn’t produce a fish, so it was back on the 13m line, where I put a few more roach and a skimmer n the net. I had been feeding the 16m line all day, but was reluctant to try it, so with 5 minutes to go I decided to try it just to say I’d been on it. I didn’t get so much a sniffing touch!!!
ALL OUT!!!
The 5 hours had flown by! Tom thought that I had done well, but two or three others had caught in the last hour, so I wasn’t sure. I thought I had between 14lb and 16lb. I walked along the bank at the weigh in and the first guy in the corner weighed 16lb 06oz. There was an 8lb, then a 9lb to my left.
I tipped my mixed catch onto the scales which pushed the dial around to 19lb 08oz! I was over the moon with that weight, and after following the scales I was even more pleased to win the section! I had Tom a bet that I hadn’t won the section, but I suppose it was well worth a beer and a bag of pork scratchings.
Things just got better and better. Mark Wilson on pool 4 shouted over that he was 3rd in the section, and Tom quickly found out that Spanky was 2nd in his, and Andy Shaw was 4th in his! We loaded the car like mad and dashed into the café to see what everyone else had done. Captain Bri had came 2nd in his, along with Ian Littewood (rug head), and Carl Rowley!
Picko had done awesome of a bad peg on Arena Lake and was 4th in his section, and Mark Foy did the business, winning his section too. The only result below half way was 7th, still not terrible, where Gordon Smith had a very bad draw, but still pulled it off for us. We had 28 points, and were all buzzing! It was a relief when 4th place was readout, as we knew we had qualified, but even better when we realised we had won with 5 points to spare! It’s a great feeling to win as a team, especially when you have to cheer for the team photo! Peterborough here we come, and we are certainly going to have a proper crack at the final, get ready! We picked up a team cheque for 180 smackers and I won 36 quid for the section.
Thanks very much to everyone who has helped us out along the way, and well done lads!
Hi Guys I just wanted to drop you a line to say well done to Triana North in semi from all the Garbolino Ossett Team.Matt it is especially nice to see how many of the team have come through the Worksop junior structure(Gordon Apart)lol and i hope you guys enjoy every minute of the practise and the final . Good luck and we look forward to competing against you in the summer League
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chris cullen
