By Matt | No Comments
Last updated: Sunday, October 19, 2008

Eyup everyone! Sorry for the delay of getting my blogs on lately, I’ve had loads of work to catch up with at school after missing a week for the WhiteAcres Maver festival….but it was well worth it!!!

I travelled down there with Sir Tom Scholey, and I still don’t know how we managed to get all the gear in the car! Thankfully, Stewart Lister had been up our way the week before so he’d already taken the bulky platforms and buckets down for us. Cheers Stewart. We set off at the absolute worst time ever, about 2pm on the Friday afternoon, after running around the tackle shops to pick up the bait. We had gone through just about every song on Sir Tom’s I-pod, Brain Adams, Elton john, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Nickleback, Spice Girls, Bob Nudd….The lot!!!…..and we were still only at Bristol! We didn’t arrive until around 10 o’clock, but it didn’t’ matter because we were on our holidays!!!! After a quick meeting with Dave Schofield (Uncle Dave by the end of the week) who we were sharing a van with, it was straight into the club for a few drinks and games of pool. I must say I am the worst pool player in the world, but still managed to obliterate Sir Tom 3 games to 0 on that first night!!!

It’s a big help getting down there on the Friday, as you can get all your gear and caravan sorted and stock up on food on the Saturday morning. And you can have an extra afternoons fishing! We did a supermarket sweep around Morrison’s, then nipped to get our gear from Stewart, and was sat fishing on the match lake by 1pm that afternoon. There were all the rumours about fish deaths and disease, so myself and Sir Tom decided to sit on two average pegs, 12 and 13, and both fish differently for the lakes silverfish. Sir Tom fished chopped worm and caster, and I fished soft pellets. The difference was amazing; I had a bite every chuck from start to finish from skimmers on pellet, whilst Tom took a good 15 minutes before he caught. Tom also caught some big roach on caster short later on, which proved valuable when we fished the match lake.

On the Sunday we decided on a practice at Bolingay, with Tom, Dave Scooby, Jim Smith (the pirate of Penzance) and myself going. I sat in a corner peg and caught a few carp on hard pellets. After a couple of hours we had a walk around to watch Tommy Pickering and Steve Baraclough who were both catching well over in the teens. When returning to my peg I managed a few more carp, as well as some weird things, an eel, the best fish of the week for me by far…and also a 1lb+ perch foul hooked in the tail! I decided to pack up before I caught a zander or something else weird.

Day 1 – Trewaters

The first day saw me on the new un-fished trewaters that had been put in the festival late on. We had a bit of info on the lakes, with the lakes being stocked with predominantly small carp, F1’s and skimmers. I drew on the top lake, peg 24. The lake is pretty much the same all the way around, 19m to the island with a depth of around 5 feet, but it looked really nice.

I decided to fish the lake similar to how you’d approach Lindholme, taking 2mm and 4mm pellets to my peg with a few maggots and some expanders for hooking. I plumbed up two main pole lines straight in front of me where I found the same depth on each so I could fish with the same rigs. The first was at 6 sections and the other at 13m (the pole limit on the new lakes). I set up three rigs for these lines. One was a 0.3g Crallusso Capri on 0.14 line straight through to an 18 PR28 with number 13 Preston hollo. This was my ‘bagging’ rig……..I wish! The next way a typical F1 rig, a 4×12 Carpa Raisor on 0.12 to 0.10 and an 18 B911 with number 9 Preston hollo. I also set up an identical 4×16 version. I plumbed up at 6m down either side of me too, where I fed some corn for the odd bigger fish, and had a feeder rod made up just in case.

At the all-in, I fed my margins quite heavy by hand to make a noise, and then cupped in a small amount of micros and 4mm pellets on my two long lines. I started with a 4mm expander on my short line, and was into small carp straight away. I caught around 20 in the first hour, the biggest been around 8oz. I stopped catching for around 20 minutes, but then caught a bigger mirror of around 3lb. the smaller fish then returned, but were by no means going mad. I had to fish with the light rig, and lower it in slowly dribbling a few 4mm’s over the float. I tried the long line and had a quick chuck on the feeder, and although I had a few indications, it was not as good as the short line. in the last hour, bites slowed and the wind started blowing. I ended up plumbing up another line to keep the bites coming, and enjoyed a real mixture of skimmers, goldfish, golden tench, green tench and carp in the last hour, up to 8oz.

The guy to my left had caught well late on, and I felt that he might have just pipped me. In the end, I weighed in 32lb odd, coming second to his 34lb. I tried down the edge a few times in the last hour and never had a bite! Neil McKinnon won the lake from the bottom bank with 40lb+. Everyone had a few bites, and it was a really nice first day, I was pleased with a second in section, and I was 4th on the whole of trewaters, and spawney enough to pick up my section money and thirds superpool!!!! It was off for a proper pub meal with Sir Tom, who won his section and was 2nd on the lake (must have been solid), as well as uncle Dave Schofield Neil McKinnon and Jonny Arthur. I had a chicken Breast with melted cheese and bacon, it was blooming reyt nice!!!

Day 2 – Porth

“WAY TOO FAST SUNSHINE………..WAY TOO FAST!!!!!!!”………Sir Tom got pulled over by a Cornish Police man for going too fast on the Cornish muddy country lanes on the way down to porth reservoir. He gave us the lecture…..”You’re obviously not used to driving on narrow muddy wet country lanes sunshine, slow down!!!” He couldn’t have been more patronising if he tried. Never the less, we were both pleased with our draws, and did 70 MPH all the rest of the way to the lake.

I was on peg 32, an end peg that had caught 10lb the day before. It was a bloody horrible walk to the peg, I made three trips, and for those of you who don’t know Porth, there’s a massive hill to down and then go UP on your way back. i was knackered when I got to the peg, it was chucking it down and blowing a gale. You have so sit out in the water at porth so a decent pair of waders is a must. I realised this after jumping into the water and realising both waders very quickly were full. There were big holes all over them. I don’t know how I didn’t notice them!!!

I set my platform yup as far out as I could, along with three pole rigs and a feeder rod. I clipped the feeder up at 30 turns with a 12’ SPRO Light feeder and Red Arc reel, and set up two rigs for 11m, and a caster rig for 6m. The two long rigs were 0.6g and 1g Jean Francois floats on 0.12 lines to 0.8 bottoms and 20 Black nickel hooks. The caster rig was my favourite Tamas Walter series 0.5g, strung out with the same lines, and number 4 elastics on all the rigs.

At the all in I balled it on the pole line with 8 big ‘uns full of caster and hemp. When I picked to pole up out of the rest there was a roach on, so I put it back in the rest and chucked another 2 big soft balls in for good luck as the fish were obviously there! I then started on the feeder, having 10 quick chucks with feederfulls of worm and caster, before putting a single maggot on and catching small swinger skimmers regularly. I was coming back with a fish most chucks, but they were only small, 2oz at the most. I stayed on the feeder for two hours, and probably caught 5lb of these small fish. I had been cupping in three small balls of ground bait on the pole every half hour, as well as loose feeding caster by hand at about 6m. At the half way stage, both me and Marcus Harrison next door hooked pike on the tip. I had a few bites but they definitely slowed down, so I had a few quick chucks to get some snap in, before coming in o have a look on the pole. I was into small fish straight away, skimmers and roach to 3oz on single and double maggot with the 1g rig and a double bulk.

For the rest of the match I altered between the pole and feeder, catching a dozen or so on each, until the last half hour where I caught some dumpy roach on my 6m caster line. I probably caught 2lb on this line in the last 20 minutes! At the all out I felt that I couldn’t have done much more, I caught steady all the way through, although the fish had been pretty small stamp. When the scales arrived, there was a 13lb 12oz from the opposite end peg, and Grant Albut had 13lb 5oz from the third peg in. I put 12lb 10oz on the scales, which put me third in the section, a reasonable result and a really good days fishing. It’s nice to have a day’s natural fishing on the festivals to break it up a bit. I recon that Porth reservoir has got to be one of the best venues in the country. I couldn’t wait to get back to the van for a shower, I had two soaking wet stinky legs, and to top my day off, my coat had blown into the lake with all my towels! All the radiators in the van were taken up with my gear! But I did get the section money by double default…SPAWNEY!!!!

Day 3 – Bolingey

I was really looking forward to Bolingey, as it might have been the only day that we had to catch some proper carp. I was a bit disheartened however when I drew peg 38, which is right in the near corner. A few people said that they didn’t really fancy it, and it only had 36lb of it the day before. It was one of the two pegs on the lake that no wind, but it looked quite featurful, with a nice margin to the right.

I set up two margin rigs, one to my left at 7 sections, and the other at 14.5m into the bank to my right. The rig was a 0.2 Crallusso Capri on 0.16 line to a 16 pr36 with number 15 Hollo elastic. I then set up a rig to fish at 6m in front of me with meat. This rig was a 4×12 Carpa 3, again on 0.16 line to a 16 hook. I then set up another line at 13m in front of me, where I cupped in just a few big pellets at the start and fished over with a large banded pellet.

I fed my margins at the off, then flicked a few pieces of meat on my short line. I started on the long pole, and had 4 small carp in the first hour and a half. All the time I was dribbling bait on my other 3 lines for late in the match. I then had a blank spell until the last hour of the match with only one small mirror when I came onto my short lines. I had a look on my 6m line, and foul hooked a proper ‘un which dramatically lost at the net. I then managed to catch am gohstie on my left hand margin about 5lb, and a similar weight mirror down the bank to my right, both on meat. With 20 minutes to go I had around 30lb. I then came in on my meat line for a last go and caught 3 more smallish carp before trashing my rig with a minute to go! I grabbed my margin rig, shipped down the edge, dropped it in, it buried, I struck, and the whistle went! FISH ON! After a short tussle, a proper mirror, 10lb+ was in the net!

When the scales arrived, 40 odd lb was best, and I thought I had around 40lb. I ended up weighing 53lb!!! This put me 2nd in the section to a chap who had 90lb further up in the section. This was a really good result for me from this peg, and it just goes to show how you can catch up in the last hour, or last 20 minutes in this case!

Day 4 – Pollawyn

I was guttered when I drew peg 2 on up the first arm of Polly. Never the less, you can’t do much about it, so I decided to fish for the silver fish, and give myself a chance of a carp early and late. I fed a margin line with meat, as well as a long meat line at 16m to the island. My mainlines however were a caster line on a top 4, with a strung out 0.2g 0.10 rig, and two skimmer lines at 13mj. I fed one with soft pellets and the other with some fishmeal ground bait.

I spent the first half hour looking for carp long, with only one small skimmer showing. Neil McKinnon in peg 6 had caught 2 decent carp in the first hour, so we had some catching up to do! I came on the short caster line after45 minutes, and was into small roach straight away. I had an hour on this line before it died and I had to move onto my skimmer lines. I kept loose feeding casters short however. I caught skimmers steady on my long lines using a small 4mm expander on the hook. Every hour I had a quick look for a carp just in case one had come over the feed down the edge or across. The skimmers looked my best option, and I ended up alternating between the two lines at 13m for the rest of the match. I had a small crucian carp of around 8oz, but my biggest fish was a bream of say 2lb. I could see Neil catching the odd skimmer, and he also caught another carp going into the last hour. The skimmers were fairly small, 3oz, and I could swing most of them. I spent the last 15 minutes down the edge and across carp hunting, but never had any signs from one.

When the scales arrived, I put 17lb 12oz on the scales. I can’t complain at the fishing, I had a lovely day with bites coming throughout, but just missed out on the carp. 40lb won the section, with two 23lb weights pushing me down to 4th in section. we did however pull it off that evening when we played a proper prank on Jim Smith, putting some ‘hairs’ in the bottom of his drink, which he drank the lot of! Mind you, he got his own back a bit the following day.

Day 5 – Acorn

It was another medioca draw for me on the last day, peg 15 on acorn. It had been second to last in the section the day before with 5lb, so things weren’t looking good.

The peg is in a large bay, with a feeder chuck to the island, and open water in front. I set up my SPRO 10’ picker rod with a meat feeder, as well as two pole rigs. The first was a caster rig for ion a top 5, and the other a corn rig at 7 sections. Both consisted of Crallusso Capri floats on 0.12 lines and number 11 Preston hollo elastics.

At the off, I cupped in half a pot or finely chopped worm and casters on a top 5, then a few grains of corn and some 4mm pellets at 7 sections. I started the match on the meat feeder, and fished this for the first hour whilst I was feeding my caster line by hand. I managed 3 small carp a pound a piece, which wasn’t any good really. I had a quick look on the corn line, but just got indications from small fish which prompted me to try the caster line. I caught roach from 2oz to 10oz steady for the next three hours on either caster or a small bit of worm. I was feeding every chuck with a good pinch of casters, and caught a few up in the water. Going into the last hour I had around 20lb, and decided to have a look for a carp. I tried the feeder again but had no signs, and had a look down both edges without a bite! With half an hour left I just wanted to catch some more fish, so I spent the last half hour catching roach on the caster line at 5 sections, catching another 8lb or so before the end.

I followed the board around, and saw two 35lb+ weights, and two 40lb weights. I had to settle for 5th in section with 31lb 9oz, of which 28lb was roach. Looking back, if I would have just fished one line for them all day, and took 4pt of casters, I might have been in with a chance, but it’s easy to say that after! Still, it was a cracking net of fish and a great days fishing. There’s some awesome silverfish to be caught at WhiteAcres! Thankfully, Sit Tom saved the day with a lake winning 54lb from twin oaks, adding a little more coin to the kitty!

In the end, I finished 34th out of the 180 on the festival. I was really chuffed with the result, and had one of the best weeks fishing I’ve ever had. Steve Ringer was just amazing, winning his section EVERY day, and winning his lake 4/5 days, coming second the other time, to win the festival in style!!! That takes some doing!!! The fishing is only a part of a week at WhiteAcres. I met loads of new people and had a really good time, can’t wait for next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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