After no fishing all week, I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms and felt well up for the bank holiday pairs match at Woodlands, Thirsk. Let me tell you how much of an absolute grueller I had!!! I was staying over at Tom’s house, and all started very well, with a lovely Sunday dinner cooked by the one and only Tom’s mum. Beef, veg, home made Yorkshire puds……the lot!!! We had all the gear ready, tactics sorted (not), and bait all ready to be prepared that evening (we messed that up n’all).
So with everything ready, we decided to go out for a few drinks locally with some of the Woodseats fisherman. Things first started to go downhill when we lost miserably at pool, and we ended up going home at 2am, only to start to chop up luncheon meat, experimenting with some weird and wonderful new shapes to cut it into when we got in. Anyway after a good 4 hours kip, it was a 6.30am alarm call met by a groan and a few choice words by Sir Tom.
Queens’ Fat Bottomed Girls soon woke us up on the way, and a big breakfast sorted everything out on arrival, although the Draw that we had as a pair didn’t look too good. I was on peg 5, Kestrel Lake, and got told a lot of the fish here were in the middle section of the lake to my right. I also had Nathan Watson on the end peg next door to contend with.. I settled on a basic match, being told that I would need to catch carp to do well.
The main plan was to fish the tip, starting o a bomb, but bearing the feeder in mind. The win was really bad, but I decided to feed a pole line, as I could always flick a bomb over the top. The rig I used was a running rig, a bead and swivel, on 4lb main line to a 0.13 powerline hooklength and a size 16 B911 eyed hook with a hair rig. I was using the SPRO 10ft picker tip rod, coupled with one of the nice SPRO red arc reels. The pole line was at 13m, where I fed a small amount of hemp, pellets and finely chopped meat, and set up a 0.5g Tomas Walter float, on 0.13 line and an 18 B911, with number 10 Preston elastic.
At the all in everyone on the whole lake did the same, feeding a pole line and chucking out a bomb. The guys in the middle of the lake were into fish straight away. I got my first indication an hour in, after recasting to a few different spots. The rod nodded lazily, and I picked into what felt like a decent fish. I took my time and after a good scrap netted a dumpy 5lb mirror, taken on a single piece of corn. After another hour of recasting and switching baits, I decided to give to pole a try. I had been dripping pellets and hemp over it, and started with a 4m expander on the hook. It was a right struggle in the wind, so I stuck another 6in of depth on and sat on the pole.
I felt that there was something there, and after 20 minutes of waiting, the float dipped under and I lifted into a good fish. It was dogging around, but the wait paid off when a decent mirror, 9lb, was laid in the landing net. Nathan on the end had 3 big carp too now though, but the guy to my right had only one small one. Only small skimmers followed, although I did have a massive gudgeon, but it was back on the bomb.
The four guys, two on each bank opposite one another, were all bagging, and whatever I tried, they weren’t coming up to me! I couldn’t hold the pole in the wind, it was snowing, and my flask was empty! I felt I was in a no-win situation, as I was never going to catch enough skimmers to come anywhere, I needed to catch carp, but the tip was as active as god knows what!!! With half an hour to go, I was edging more and more to my right, until eventually (6 pegs up), I connected with my third fish. It was absolutely TINY! A common about a pound on a big lump of meat. That was the last bit of action for me, although I saw them in the middle catching plenty.
I ended up weighing in 16lb 03oz (the 03oz was the gudgeon), for below half way. The two in the middle both had over 40lb. I beat the guy to my right, who had 15lb, but Nathan ended up with 5 good uns’ for 23lb. Tom didn’t do too well either, so it was back to the drawing board (PUB!) on the way home in Wetherby, where we had another proper meal, Lamb Dinner, oh yes. It was the best bite I got all day. In hindsight, we should have stayed out all night, and just fished the tip all day. We didn’t have the best of draws, but that’s fishing…..if ya don’t like it….don’t go. All in all though, it was as enjoyable as always, we could be doing much worse things!
I’ve been really busy all week preparing for the VDE festival at White Acres. I’m off down there Saturday, so hopefully it will be a few degrees warmer and we should have a good time, I’m really looking forward to it and getting excited!!! Me and Stewart are keeping Tom up to date with the day to day results etc, so check them out on out forums as of Sunday.
Cheers and tight lines, Matt.
Good Luck on the fessy Matt.
Mark
cheers mark
Hi Mark, thought i would take a look at the website and must say very impressed. It might take me a few days to work my way round it but i will get there. Calvin, i will probably get round on Wednesday and Stewart, i am looking forward to seeing you at my first Whiteacres which i can’t belive is only a couple of weeks away.
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chris cullen
