Rods&Reels Autumn Series Barston Lake 9th October

Having missed the last round of the autumn series due to me getting up late and not being able to find the fishery (cheers sat nav!) I was looking forward to fishing this round at Barston lakes.

My history at Barstons has never been good and I always tend to blow out every match I have fished there, this time round I was hoping to change all that and come away with a good result.

Having got there nice and early and settled down to a nice fry up breakfast (one of the only reasons I go fishing to have a good fry up) it wasn’t long before the rest of the lads shown up ready for the draw.

We had been allocated pegs 34 upwards to the high 60’s with the island swims in this is where I fancied on drawing and was hoping one of these pegs would come out. That wasn’t to be and out came peg 56. Not knowing too much about the peg off I went to the car to sort my kit out.

On getting my kit out I had noticed that I had not packed my trolley and knew with the kit I carry it was going to be back breaking getting it to the peg.

Well after half an hour up and down the bank getting my kit to the peg I took time out to decide what I wanted to do. With the wind blowing a gale left to right I knew it wasn’t going to be easy fishing the pole but wanted to set up a chopped worm and caster line 11-13 meters out.

The other swim would be the method feeder straight out to the front at about 55 reel turns.

After sitting down and I started setting up for the pole line I opted for a Sensas Jean Desque 0.8gr with a bulk shot and 2 droppers fished 2 inch over depth due to the wind and tow on the lake. Line of choice as always was Browning Cenex line 0.12mm main line to an 8 inch 0.10mm hook length finished off with a Tubertini 808 size 16 hook. Elastic choice would be a Browning solid latex size 12 on a pulla bung set soft for the skimmers but handy should the carp turn up.

For the method line I fished a mix of 3mm pellet and ground bait on a 30gr Kobra inline method with a 0.14mm 4inch hook length with a PR36 size 16 hook. Bait choice for the hook would be Browning marbles in different flavours and colours (mini bollies) to see what the fish were having if any at all. All of this attached to a 0.16mm main line with my Browning Force 12ft feeder rod.

As the all in was called is was off to work feeding my pole line then going straight out on the method casting every 2 minutes for the first 20 minutes to get some bait down in the swim then I slowed it down and cast every 15 minutes watching the tip for indications to see if the fish had moved in. My plan was to sit most of the day on the tip looking over my pole line every hour to see if any fish had moved in and were feeding; it wasn’t some thing I wanted to stay on all day due to the wind as it was getting worse.

After the first hour I had managed 2 small F1’s I had plenty of indications on the tip and I thought to myself just to stick it out. With 2 and a half hours gone and just 2 F1’s to show for it and nothing happening on my pole line I had a feeling of deja vous. Looks like another blow out on the cards. With this in mind I unclipped from 55 reel turns changed the setup to a cage feeder with a 1ft hook length and fed chopped worm and caster in the feeder plugged both ends with a mix of 3mm pellet and ground bait and cast it 65 reel turns feeding half a worm on the hook and let it settle. Within 5 minutes the rod tip bent round and in came another F1. Another 15 minutes saw me land another one and things were looking up, as from what I could see people around me were also struggling. This carried on for another hour landing small F1’s totalling 5 in an hour it was nice to be catching but needed some thing larger to start bumping my weight up. I changed the hook bait for an 8mm red boillie to see if one of the resident large carp would be tempted.

After 2 casts in half hour nothing happened on the tip just as I was about to reel in the tip shot round and this time it was a larger carp. It didn’t take long for it to power up and then it was gone. I was gutted that would have done nicely in the net but that’s fishing.

With only an hour remaining and still gutted I had lost a big carp I decided to sit it out on the pole line. And sure enough the skimmers had moved in with a steady last hour of skimmers coming to the net I had added another 10-12lb to my net. With the all out being called I was unsure where I had finished in the section and match overall.

With the scales coming round I put 28lb on the scales enough for section 3^rd with the winning weight coming from 10 pegs down who had managed to get them going all day on his pole line landing a carp to 19lb.

Another blow out from a lake that I just can’t get to grips with and need to visit more often to suss out what works when and where.

It has left me thinking of ways to tackle the venue and one I am still looking forward to fishing in the future get the tatics and feeding right and a good day is in the cards.

Rods&Reels Autumn Series Lychgate Fishery 25th Sept

Today saw me down at Lychgate Fishery for the second round of the Rods & Reels autumn series. This venue was completely unknown to me and a few anglers on how to approach it due to it being a private lake that doesn’t see many matches.

After visiting to the venue the day before and catching up with the manger of the lake I decided on an all out silver fish attack. Reasons being there were carp in the lake but were to double figures and didn’t show all the time.

Well after watching a few anglers mixing up buckets of groundbait and the likes it was time for the draw in went my hand and out came peg 34 which meant nothing to me as there was no past form on how the peg produced so it was a suck it and see.

When I got to the peg I was in kind of a bowl with a bit space to play around with.

The advice I had been given was that I didn’t need to fish too far out to catch the roach which moved around in shoals around the lake. With this in mind I decided on a 3 prong attack fishing 4m straight out then a swim 10m at the 2o’clock position. I would also set up a pole line down the left hand margin at 6m.

For the 4m line I set up a Hillbilly F1 Wire taking 5 number 10 shot spread down a 0.10mm main line to a 6inch 0.08 hooklength finished off with a Drennan silverfish maggot hook size 18 elastic choice was a Browning Cenex number 6. Bait for this line as well as the 10m line was a fine dark groundbait mixed the night before to make it inert laced with red maggot. For the 10m line I used the same set up just a heavier Hillbilly F1 Wire float.

The idea being to catch off one line then move to the other once that line had gone dead and just to keep feeding and alternating between the two swims.

For the 6m margin line I set up a Hillbilly Chump 0.30gr with a bulk of number 9 shot with 2 droppers to register the float once settled. Line dia would be 0.12mm main line to a 0.10mm 6 inch hooklength finished off with a size 18 Tubertini 808 hook eslatic choice would be a Browning Cenex number 10 elastic. Bait for this line would be chopped worm and caster hopping to draw out one or two of the bigger perch that were residents in the edge helping to hopefully bump the weight up.

With everything all it set the all in was called and out I went with the pole feeding all three lines 4m,10m with 2 golf ball sized groundbait balls each and my 6m line with a 250ml cup of fine chopped worm and caster.

Moving straight onto the 4m line saw the float shoot under and a 2oz roach on the end. This continued for the first 30 minutes then the line went dead so a move over to the 10m line saw me bag a few more.

Then both swims went dead, adjusting the shotting and depth failed to pay off to the point of me scratching my head. I moved across to the margin line and managed to bag a few 2oz-3oz perch but not the 1lb-2lb+ perch I was looking for. I re-fed that line and went back over to the 4m,10m lines to see if the fish had turned back onto the bait this was not to be and with an hour to go I knew I needed to temp a bonus perch out of the edge.

In went the rig and this time shot under this wasn’t a perch it was a carp not what I was looking for and as the elastic ripped out and shot across the lake I just held on knowing once the elastic bottomed out it was a case of waiting for the hooklength to go which in the end it did.

That was about it and I saw no more action (if there were fish moving back into the swim that carp made sure the backed off again.

With the all out being called I was disappointed with what I had caught as I feel if I had off been more opened minded I think a hemp or a bread punch line could of worked .

With the weigh in coming around I managed to put 1lb8oz on the scales leaving to take 2^nd in section.

Oh well always next time.

Rods&Reels Autumn Series first match Mill on the Soar

Today saw me down at Mill on the Soar for the first match of the Rods&Reels Autumn Series. When I found out that this would be the first match I was happy as its always a place that has been kind to me with regards to results.
Having got to the fishery and met up with the lads it was a quick walk round the lake. With the wind blowing hard i think most lads opted to fish the tip. I fancied pegs 10,6 and 36 at the draw and was hoping one of them would be pulled out, this was not so and out came peg 31 (not where I wanted to be) other side of the lake but knew there were some big fish that visited that side of the lake and liked the margins.
When I got to my peg I realised that I had some space to my left which would prove to be productive later on in the match.
The plan of attack was to fish the pellet method to the far bank that was about 20 meters away. I knew this could be a hit or miss if the fish were there it would be a busy day. For this line i set up my Browning 8ft wand to a Browning Backfire reel loaded with 6lb line. For the end tackle I choose a Kobra 20gram in line method feeder to a 4 inch hook length matched to a PR36 size 18 hook with a quick stop. Plan would be to fish 3mm dampened down pellet to a 6mm meat hook bait.
My pole line would be to the out to the front at the 11 o'clock position at 7 meters. Tackle was a double no8 elastic set to a pulla bung. Line would be 0.16mm Browning Cinex line to 0.14 6 inch hook length with a size 16 B911 hook. Pole float choice was a HillBilly F1 Wire (I wanted a float that was sensitive and would stay stable in the water due to the wind blowing a gale. Shot wise would be a series of no 10 shot bulked on the line 7 inches from the hook idea being I wanted to get the bait down as quickly as possible.
Feed for this line would be dampened down 3mm and 4mm pellet, fed little and often and see what comes of it.
The last line I set up was down the margin. I had a bush sticking out of the bank by a meter about 7 meters to my right and to me it screamed a fish holding area.
Tackle for this line would be a 16 latex set tight but not too tight to bump of smaller fish should it come to needing them. Line of choice again was Browning Cinex 0.20mm main line to 0.18mm 6 inch hook length to a PR36 size 14 hook. Float of choice was again a HillBilly this time an AK47 margin float. For feed this would be fed with chopped worm and caster mixed with  (ABC) Grand Prix Liquid Detonator (which is a soluble protein liquid that works a treat with this type of bait). On the hook would be half a lob worm. This line would be fed every half an hour from the all in with with half a large pot of worm and caster and would go over it every half and a half to see if any thing was there.
Well the all in was called and off to work I went throwing the pellet feeder out every 3-4 minutes waiting for the fish to turn up on the far bank. After a half and a half of changing hook baits and no sign of fish on the tip moving on the far bank it was time to check the 7 meter pole line. With the wind blowing even harder it was always going to be a line that I could throw away if needed if the wind picked up after another hour sat with no bites it was time to check my margin swim.
I had been over that line an hour earlier and no fish were there so it was a great surprise when the float settled and shot straight under and fish number one was in the net. Sticking the float out again it shot under and fish number 2 was in the net (happy days the fish have turned up) Out it went for the third time and nothing, had I had the only 2 fish down there feeding at the time? out went some more feed then came of that line to let it resettle. Back on the tip for a while to see if the fish had moved in on the far bank proved to be fruitless so it was back to the margin swim.

This time with a half and a half left of the ,atch I didnt look back It was fish after fish, even landing a fish that weighed just under 20lb. My Browning Z9 pole stood up to the challenges that were threw at it and I landed it with ease.
After the all out had been called I was slightly disspointed with my self as I lost a few big fish in the reeds and being too heavy handed and lost a few after struggling to get them to the net for the fish to spit the hooks so I feel I could of doubled that weight.
Looking around the other pegs whilst the match was on I didnt feel I had done enough to place in the top 3 and I could see what was going on around the side of the lake, so felt like I had blew it.
Well as the sclaes came round I had to beat 58lb which I was suprised about and thought I had a chance of 2nd or 3rd. The fish went on to the scales and tipped them at 70lb I had won the match which I was well happy with.
As always Mill on the Soar was kind to me but could of lost the match need to be slightly less heavy handed with my tackle at times.
Next match sees me at a place called Litchgate fishery on the 25/09/2011 for round 2 and hopfuly another good result

Back to winning ways at Mill On The Soar

Last weekend (30^th April) saw me down Mill on the Soar just outside Hinckley for their Saturday open match. After last weekends blow out down Higham Lane I was looking for a good result. Having being keen to get there for the draw I arrived half hour early and had a walk around the lake as I had never seen the place before. With the wind blowing quite hard I was already thinking of how I was going to attack the lake once I had drawn my peg.

The info on the place I had managed to find out was that the place was stuffed with skimmer bream and plenty of carp that had grew to a large size.

Once the lads had turned up it was time for the draw hand in and out and out came peg 12 which meant naff all to me and off I went to grab my kit and walk up to my peg.

Having dropped off my kit I had a good look at the peg, the first thing that hit me was the wind it was really blowing now and I couldn't see me holding the pole for the whole 5 hours at distance let alone 4-5 meters out. The first plan of attack was the method feeder to the far bank around 16-20 meters away for this I set up my Browning 8" wand, a small rod that is ideal for small chucks to far banks when the wind is up and more than capable of dealing with the resident munter carp.

Method feeder of choice was a 20 gram kobra inline feeder attached to a 4 inch hook length with a PR 36 size 18 hook finished of with a quickstop.

Bait of choice would be corn hair rigged on the hook and micro pellet softened up with Grandprix Detonator. I tend to use the Grandprix Detonator a lot when fishing with pellets in the summer not only does it dye the pellets bright red which I believe catches more fish due to it being a sight bait but also the flavourings within detonator  make it a fish pulling additive which they cant resist come the warmer months.

My next plan of attack would be the pole line to my front having had a good look round the swim when plumbing up the lake bed seemed to be very flat at just over 2 and a half foot I settled on fishing 9 meters out.

Rigs of choice would be two first would be a 0.3gr Mick Wilkinson pellet float with browning Cinex 0.16mm main line and a 0.14mm hook length a bulk shot of no9 6 inches from the hook with a no 11 as a dropper. Hook would be a b911 size 16 this would be my positive rig. My next rig was the same except the shot would be spread out along the line to slow the bait down.

With the all in being called it was time to get to work out went the pole cup with a ball of pellet to kick start the swim. Then straight over to the far bank on the method to see if any carp were already there. It didn’t take long before the rod wrapped round and fish number 1 was in the net (great start!) Out went the method again hitting the same place as before and sure enough it went round again. Looking down the lake not much was going on so felt quite positive that I could do well in the match but being the first hour it was still very early days yet. With the wind picking up blowing down the lake from my left to right I decided to stay on the tip as I saw this my best plan of attack and could see fellow anglers struggling holding their poles. It was a matter of wait out and see what comes into the swim. For the next 4 hours I caught steadily throughout the match from carp to skimmers getting snapped a few times by the muter carp that patrol the far banks. The problem is with the lake being quite shallow once you hook one of these resident carp they bolt off down the lake and with no depth there is no where to go other than left or right.

With the pole line I didn’t quite spend enough time on it due to the wind and couldn’t quite get the presentation I wanted so even though I kept feeding it and going over it and mugging a few 1-3lb skimmers it wasn’t a line I concentrated on.

With the all out being called I felt I might have done enough for third place as the lads that I could see hadn’t really had much fish due to the weather and the carp just not being there.

It wasn’t long before it was time for my weigh in and managed to put around 47lb on the scales which was good enough for 2^nd place beating my brother by 2lb which was a bonus as well.

So from having a bad start back in the Midlands it wasn’t long before I was back to winning ways which is always nice to see. I intend on going to more matches down Mill On The Soar in the very near future as I find it a interesting lake that I want to crack and get the most out of and with the silver fishing on offer its nice to have a quality bag of silvers every now and then.

Pellet method

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Pellet Method PDF File

Not the start I wanted back in the midlands

Last week saw me in the midlands due to my new job that I am about to start. This gave me time to get back to one or two old stomping grounds that I used to fish when I was younger.
Due to work commitments its been a while and since I had time to get out and about on the bank last week was seen as a blessing and a chance to get back into my routine.
The 23rd of April saw me fishing in a open match at Higham Lane fisheries in Hinckley.
Turning up on the Saturday morning saw me wanting to draw up the top end of the lake due to the warm weather and with the wind blowing into the top end of the lake for a fair while this is where the fish would be, and matches from past had been won that end.
Well in went my hand and out came peg 2 (not where i wanted to be in fact complete opposite!). Granted I had drawn a end peg within the section and is a peg that is capable of winning when the wind is blowing into the bank. With the wind blowing into the furthest bank I knew I was going to have my work cut out.
The plan of attack came in the form of my Z9 pole 14 meters out to my front setting up two rigs one shallow and one on the deck. Starting on the deck feeding pellet via catapult and looking in for fish coming up in the water then I would change to my shallow rig. The next plan of attack would be to fish the method across peg one and into the bank and see if I could mug a few fish from there. The last plan was to set up a paste rig and fish it just in front of peg one to my right.
With the all in being called I set to work. Throughout the match I struggled to find the fish switching from line to line to try and locate any fish within the swim.
I knew it was never going to be a winning peg but tried to make the most of it and maybe claim 3rd place overall.
To cut a long story short I ended up with 5 carp for around 30lb which I threw back due to watching the lads up the top end of the lake have a good six hours baggin.
Looking back on the match i don't think there wouldn't be anything else I would of tried and most of the lads fishing down this end of the lake also had a poor days fishing.
Not really the start I wanted coming back to one of my old stomping grounds and really wanted to start with a top three finish.
With fishing some times the draw has to be nice to you if not then you are bound to struggle to compete.
Lets hope the next match pulls in a good result.

Browning New Sponsor

Just thought I would let everyone know I am sponsored by Browning which is apart of  Zebco Europe.
Zebco Europe is one of the largest and most successful producers of fishing tackle in Europe. With the Zebco, Rhino, Quantum, Browning Fishing, Fin-Nor and Van Staal brands, there are six world famous brand names to choose from.
Browning produce perfect angling equipment and accessories for champion anglers of the present and future. You can place your trust in the experience of a global brand whose equipment is synonymous with quality and winning championships.
I would just like to thank the people at Zebco for giving me this opportunity to represent them and hope this is the start of a long and exciting partnership.
I am currently re-kitting myself out with Browning tackle so at the minute I am not fishing. I hope to be back on the bank in mid Febuary so whatch this space.

Cold day at Witherington Farm

Well most of you have seen the weather over the past week (not good by all accounts). Today saw me down at my local venue Witherington Farm for the Reids Tackle open match.
The match was to take place on the back two lakes Selwood and Cottage 1 section per lake. Having been picked up by Si Irwin and got to the venue with no hitches (no snow down here at the miniute) I sat down to a good old breckie and a cuppa wondering what the day would bring(swear I only go fishing to have a good fry up before hand).
In the summer nine times out of ten Cottage lake out fishes Selwood lake in the winter its the other way round with this in mind I wanted to draw Selwood that wasn't to be on the draw i pulled out Cottage peg 1.Not where i wanted to be but like most times you make the best of a bad draw, first thing was first getting the ice breaker out and giving the ice a good bashing.
Having managed to clear a swim 7 meters out and 2 meters wide i decided to set up one rig and sit on it for the duration of the match as i didn't feel having a few lines would work.
So the only set up for the match would be a match top 3 with a double 5 Preston slip elastic running through it fished 7 meters out,rig would be a 0.13mm main line with a Hillbilly F1 wire float 4x10 hook length was 0.10mm with a tubertini 808 size 18 hook, shooting wise i spread the shot out along the rig.
For feed I planned on fishing micro pellet with 6mm expander over the top feeding little and often through a cad pot.
With the all in being called i set to work filling my cad pot and sorting the hook bait out.
For the first hour I never had a bite and had no indications on the float I had fed very little as I wanted to feel my way into the swim and not pile in loads of bait and mess it up.
The weather seemed to be getting worse with the wind picking up blowing right to left across my peg making the chill factor even worse, after another non action packed half hour it was time for a brew in the cafe and a quick warm up.
After a quick defrost it was back to my peg, rig in and the float buried first fish was in the net after another 10 mins the float shot under once again and fish two in the net this carried on for the next 3o mins catching a fish every 10 minutes then it went dead. With 4 gold fish and a small carp in the net in just under a hour I was pretty happy , I had a feeling the larger carp wouldn't show due to the conditions and it wasgoing to be a matter of catching what I could when the opportunity came.
After another 2 hours of watching my float with no action it was brew time once again and yet another quick warm up in the cafe. 10 minute warm up and it was back on the bank for the last hour which passed very slowly due to not having any indications on the float and the wind cutting straight me "all out" was called.
Looking around the lake there was only four of us who still had nets in water the rest had packed up and gone before the all out was called or were just packing up and off home.
When the weigh in came round I put 4lb2oz onto the scales (not the greatest of weights but with everyone struggling it was worth it) and it proved to be a good move with the winning weight being 5lb7oz leaving me to take 2nd on the lake.
Having got back to the cafe to find out the results I learned that 14lb odd had won the match of one of the pegs on Selwood. Still a 2nd on my lake was enough to eran me a nice brown envolope.
Looking back at the match now sat in the warm I must be mad to fish in this weather. The weather has been terrible over the past week with temperatures dropping to below zero with snow due over most of the country. The weight might have not been a big weight but just getting out and fishing is what counts in good company so even though i sat there not feeling my feet or hands I had a good day out.
Next match I am back down Witherington Farm next Wednesday for Army Angling Federation Group 2 Fur and Feather match hopfully some milder weather might have kicked in ? .

ARTILLERY CENTRE ANGLING CLUB SPRING OPEN WITHERINGTON FARM

After the fisho match at Lakeveiw it was time to head off back down south (home) and get ready for the Artillery Centre Angling Club spring open which was to take part at Witherington Farm.
Having spent a day down there last week to brush the cob webs out I already had a plan of attack of what i was going to do. The match was to take part on selwood and cottage, i was hoping to draw selwood as thats what i had been on last week and i have another match on there Saturday so it would help me keep in touch to what the fish were doing.
After getting down there and having a fry up and paying my pools money the draw took place hand went in and out came selwood 6 happy days !
On getting to my peg and having a look round i had a empty peg of to the right and had a island chuck to the front (would be hard as i forgot my rods) so it was going to be a all out pole attack.
The first swim i set up was the margin swim as it was screaming at me not to ignore I planned on fishing straight to the platform on the right, not on top of it just of to the side as i didn't want the fish running under the platform and all hell breaking lose trying to get them out. The rig that i set up for this was .2gram Hillbilly Grizzly float 0.16mm line straight through to a maver mt4 size 16 hook purple hydro would be the choice for elastic to tame the munters that were in the lake and pay regular visits into the margins.
The next line would be a 13meter line straight to my front (as i was setting up the wind started to pick up slightly so didn't want to get blown around all day attempting to fish any longer). The rig i set up for this swim was a Gaz Malman power pencil .2gram with a 0.13mm main line and 0.10mm hook length with a tubertini 808 size 18 hook elastic choice would be a double number 4 Preston slip elastic attached to a pulla bung, this would be my main skimmer line but would also be strong enough and give me a better chance of landing the carp within the lake should they tip up later on in the match.
The other line i set up were to be one slightly of to the left at 7meters same as the 13meter line for set up.
My plan of attack was to get the skimmers in the lake feeding as these can prove to be good weight builders and if you do get them going you could be in for a busy day. What i have noticed that the carp do tend to move onto the skimmer lines later on in the day and was hoping the chance would be there to bag a couple pushing my weight up.
On the all in all 3 lines were fed with dampened down micro pellet which i had sprinkled and mixed with Willis Worms Detonator ground bait, this gave the pellets a slight covering and one i have been using for a while to good results as it gives of a cloud in the water. The hook bait would be a either a 4mm or 6mm xspander pellet.
I decided to go over my 13meter line first and it didn't take long before i got indications on the float, after another 5mins the float shot under and i was into a carp (not what i planned for straight away) with the elastic and the pulla bung doing its job after about 10mins a 5lb carp was in the net happy days !
The next put in saw the float move around again and it didn't take long before the skimmers switched onto the feed and i started to catch steady for the next hour.
With me fishing the 13meter line every time a fish was caught i would re fed a nugget of micro pellets down the edge and out on my 7meter line as if the 13meter line went dead i could mug a few off the 7meter line and let the 13meter line settle before i had another go at it.
With the match passing the half way time i was in a good position with a fair few skimmers in the net and three carp (better than what everyone else was doing).
With the 13meter line paying of i stayed over there picking of the skimmers steadily then it went dead which is what thought it would do as the carp might have moved in true to my word the float shot under and and a carp went tearing off across the lake. I manged to bring it in to my top three kit and ping it snapped me oh well, after sticking another hook length on i wasn't surprise to see the swim had died so i re fed and went onto the 7meter line and started catching skimmers on there. By now one or two anglers had managed to put decent sized carp into their nets and were catching up, with a hour to go i made a move for my margin line knowing a couple of carp would put me back in a good position.
Having gone over the margin line and waiting for 15 mis it seemed nothing was there then thump float gone purple hydro out making a bee line for the platform. This one didn't manage to make it to the platform and it didn't take long to for it to see my landing net.
After re feeding it was straight back over there to see if any carp had come into the swim, no less than five mins later the float shot under again this one manged to get to the platform and snap me i just lost the hook luckily.
Good job i had set up another rig at the beginning with 0.20mm line same detail float and hook attached to red hydro as i though i may need to step gear should i have problems on the lighter set up.
With half hour to go i managed another three carp before the all out was called. I was happy with what i had caught as some anglers struggled some anglers caught a mixture like me and some had just carp and it was going to be tight for the section win.
With the weigh in taking place i put 44lb onto the scales with the peg two up from me taking the lake by 45lb.
With cottage lake having a winning weight of 66lb of carp it was not on the cards to take the match, however with the lake winner on my lake a guest he could only compete for the guest prize leaving me taking 2nd for the Artillery Centre Angling Club spring open.
Looking back on the match i think i will start to use hook lengths on my margin rigs as it could of gone pete tong if i hadn't of set up another rig just in case.
Next matches see me in a double header for the Saturday and Sunday back down at Witherington Farm in the Steve Ramsey Memorial match with maybe a afternoons fishing before hand just to try a few things out.

LAKEVEIW FISHO MANIA 2010 QUALIFIER

Well the time came to fish my first match of the year having been away for the last 6 or so months. This turned out to be the fisho mania qualifier up at Lakeveiw fishery at Melton Mowbery. Having picked up my brother (traveling partner) it was off to lakeveiw funny thing was i had never seen the place before and wasn't sure what the day would turn out like.
I had been given some sound info from one or two of the lads of Total Fishing forum and my plan was based around what i had been told.
Having pulled into the car park and parking the car it was of to cafe for a good old bacon and egg butty (top notch by the way).
Looking around there were a few faces there that had even won the final or had taken part in the final and it did feel a bit weired.
Draw time came and as usual there was a rush to form the que i sat there with my brother and deiced to draw once the que went down.
My hand went into the draw and drew serpent peg 1 happy days i thought one of the lakes that i thought stood a chance of picking up the winning weight.
Having got to my peg i noticed the wind blowing from left to right blowing into the bank.
My plan of attack was to fish 2 rigs over to the far bank at 13meters tight into the rat holes,these rigs were a hillbilly rat catchers tied to 0.15mm main line and a 0.14mm hook length with a size 18 tubertini 808 hook. I plumbed up one to sit on the far shelf and one which i could push up onto the shelf.
My other 2 swims were a 4 meter line just off to the left for this i used a Gaz Malman power pencil .2 of a gram same as my other rigs 0.15mm main line 0.14mm hook length,then a paste line down the left margin just at the bottom of the shelf which was a 0.16mm line straight through to a maver mt4 size 10 hook.
For feeding the far bank I intended to feed micro pellet and expander on the hook. The inside line was to be red maggot fished on the deck.
All in was called and straight away i went over to the far bank tipping a cad pot of micros onto the shelf straight away the float shot under and fish number one was in the net again i went back over and another fish came shortly after. Spending another 15mins over there with no more bites I moved over to the other rig and pushed it on to the shelf same again float shot under and fish 3,then same again it went dead. I re fed and stayed over there for a while as there was indications that the fish were there however didn't want to be caught all the time i was feeding my inside maggot line hoping it would pay off later on in the match.
With bites coming few and far between i took a gamble and moved over to my inside line earlier than i wanted to (i needed a few fish as one or two other anglers were catch steadily). Straight away the float shot under another fish in the net. I then had a funny spot of losing 6 fish on the bounce and after a quick adjust to my rig and the shotting pattern i was again back into the fish. This continued for the rest of the match every time i went back over i would feed by hand, I did have a few slow spots where the fish were hard to come by but then i would have a good half hour of constant catching. With the lake not really producing i thought i would be in with a shout of at least a section win.
With the all out coming I wasn't sure how I had done compared to the other lakes I knew it would be tight for the lake as some one else had been catching all match.
With the scales coming to me first it was time to see what i had got i tipped 60lb 10oz onto the scales and was told your in with a chance of winning the match even though i said at the beginning that you would need 70lb to win.
In the end i finished 1st in my section and 2nd on the lake being beat by 3lb (who went on to take 2nd overall in the match)
After the results were in I learned i had managed to finish 4th overall missing out 1st by 8lb.
This was a very tight match with the winner being Andy North (Well done that man all the best in the final).
Looking back I had a great day and feel I could of gone all the way if it wasn't for losing around 6 fish but that's match fishing for you win some lose some.Its a match i will remember for a while as it was so close.

For a full run down on how the match went click on the link below and watch the video from tight lines

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid29318049001?bctid=82308388001
Next match for me now is back down to Witherington farm in the Artillery Spring Open on the Wednesday.

QUICK UPDATE

Just at the last time i posted on here its been a while, due to job commitments its not been possible to fish due to me being out of the country for the past 6 months.
I spent the Tuesday down at Witherington Farm on Selwood lake just to blow the cob webs out and give my new pole a wiggle and had a good day baggin 60lb odd of skimmers and ten carp fishing 13m out using pellet over micro pellet,its was just nice to get out and find that i hadnt lost the touch lol.
Well as all of you know Fisho is in full swing with the makins fisho fished yesterday.
I managed to get hold of three tickets the venues are
Lakeveiw 24th April
Stafford Moor Fishery 8th May
Octoplus Boldings 22nd May
so as they say you have to be in it to win it !
Other matches i have lined up at the moment include The Steve Ramsey Memorial Match which is a 2 dayer event down at one of my local fisheries Witherington Farm. I fished this last year for the first time and had a good time ,good company,plenty of piss taking a good all round weekend thats on the 1st/2nd May .
My next two army angling matches both take part down at Witherington farm as well,with one being the on the 28th April which is the Artillery Centre Angling Clubs spring open and the other being a group match some time in May.
My main aim this year is just to have fun and a good time and catch some fish on the way and report on here what i have been up to.

MACMILLIAN CANCER CHARITY MATCH MAYNES LAKES

Well the time had now come to fish the MacMillian charity match before i go on about the match i will give you a quick insight into how this match became to be. A dear family Friend found out a couple of years ago that she had cancer and it was MacMillian who helped her deal with it whilst going through tuff aggressive treatment to try to rid the cancer from her body. After a while this happened and she carried on leading a normal life. With her husband being a avid fisherman and match fisher man he decided to put together a charity match in aid of MacMillian with the money raised going to the said charity as i sign of thank you. The match went along last year raising a nice sum (oh i didn't win the match lol)
This year there was bad news the cancer had returned taking her life in mid July. With the match planned already this year Terry Fisher (her husband) decided to go along with it in memory to his wife and everyone that knew her.
After a couple of emails to a couple of anglers i knew i had the likes of Andy Neal,Christian Vandervleit and Tony Curd all offering them selves up for auction to raise money for the said charity I also had Gaz malman of Malaman floats Neil Powell of Hillbilly pole floats and Mick Wilkinson join in offering floats that could be auctioned off as well as certain tackle/bait companies ( Willis Worms , Carp Vader,Cats and Dogs, Fox,Bait Tech )to name a few that gave raffle prizes and support from the Total Fishing Forum.
With the match time close approaching it was time for the draw in went my hand and out came peg 34 lake 2 to be honest i didn't know what to expect when i got to my peg as this was one lake i hadn't really spent any time on. Getting to the my peg I had the far bank 13m out with a tree to my right in the margin. Plan of attack would be to fish two line down the track 6m out one margin swim to my right (tree) and one to the far bank using method feeder on the pole.
Floats i would be using were once again Tubertini pro carp series 0.3gr down the track and a 0.1gr down the margin. Method on the pole would be a in line fox method feeder with bite indication being the elastic shooting out of my top kit.
Line would be 0.14mm main line with 0.12mm hook length and tubertini 808 size 16 hooks on all rigs.
For the feed i would use Willis worms 4mm low oil pellet on one of the track lines and 6mm down the margin with sweetcorn. The other line would be hemp and meat as before ans method mix for the feeder would be Willis Worms Detenator mix.
All i called and all three pole lines were fed and left i wanted the fish of the far bank and with it being weedy and saggy the method on the pole would be ideal to sit in nice and tight to the bank.
Using the method on the pole i tend to use a plastic clip pushed down the top kit load my feeder up and place the line down the top kit so the method doesn't touch the water. Ship the pole out lift and turn this lets the method feeder swing into its spot once your on drop the pole and ship back until the line becomes tight then its just hold on and wait for the bite.
Well it didn't take long before i had about 20 odd fish in the net using this method rumor was my brother was baggin by tapping his pole and fishing shallow. With this in mind i moved on to my track lines 6m out to see if the fish were there and they sure were baggin another 15 fish quickly then bang it went dead both lines went dead not even a bite I went back over on the method feeder and that had slowed right down ,by now i was scratching my head as it had started so well and now was going wrong arhhh (don't you hate it when this happens lol)
with the match now going slow and picking up the odd fish i wasn't going to be my day.
With a hour to go i cupped in a full pot of hemp and meat and went straight over it and straight away i had a fish in the net. The next put it saw another fish in the net then another one and another they were now queuing to to get caught. The last hour saw me bag around 30-40 fish I knew i wasn't going to win as I was now playing catch up with my brother but i could at least frame.
All out called and with the winning weight being 68lbs caught by my brother i knew i wasn't near it out came the net fish onto the scales to show 38lbs not bad but yet again beaten for third by 4lbs another forth. With the match being in aid of a family friend who died the winning wasn't really what i set out to do it was the talking part and raising as much money as poss for such a great cause. Over all I managed to raise £500 to go towards the final amount which came to the region of £1600.
I would like to thank everyone that took part and to those that helped me reach my total next year sees the match at the same venue hoping to grow on what we have achieved this year.
Jacky Fisher R.I.P

MAYNES LAKES WEDNESDAY OPEN

With the charity match looming on the Saturday I thought this would be chance to see how the lake was fishing and what methods would catch.
Well i turned up on the day for the draw after having a bacon buttie and a coffee and draw time soon approached the left hand went in and out came Peg 24 lake one. Looking around and after asking a few questions it wasn't a flier (never draw fliers need to come up with a new draw method lol).
Once i was at my peg it was a quick set up as the rain which had been light when i turned up was now starting to get harder. Plan of attack was to no more than 7 meters down the track reason why the wind was blowing right to left straight across the peg and i wasn't in one of them moods to fish 13 meters to the far bank and constantly get my pole dragged around by the wind, there would be fish over to the island but i was hopping i could pull them in closer using a little but often approach.
Rigs for the two swims i would set up down the track would be 2 tubertini pro carp floats 0.4gr with a .14mm main line and a .12mm hook length shotting pattern would be a bulk of no 8 a foot above the the hook with 2 no 10 droppers further down and see how it goes and test and adjust where needed.
Feed wise it would be one line 4mm pellet/sweetcorn the other 4mm meat and hemp no cupping in at the start just small cad pot sizes going in after every fish or bite as i wanted to build the swim up slowly as i have seen lads pile it in down here and the fish don't want to know.
All in was called and i decided to feed the meat line once every five minutes over a 30 minute period and leave it to settle while i looked over the pellet line,once over the pellet line it didn't take long for i was into my first small carp of the day happy days.
This went on for the next 20mins topping up with just a small cad pot the wind now had started to blow harder the rain was pelting down and the anglers who gambled with the 13m line to the island were now struggling to hold there pole straight.
With about 15 fish in the net for around 6-7lb (only small fish the lake is full of them) I turned to the meat line hoping that i had a few fish feeding and it didn't take long before i had another 6 fish in the net. Most anglers had now come in on there track line and one or two were catching well using paste. This was one method i had decided no to bother with due to the size of the fish there were a good stamp of fish up to 4-5lbs however sorting them out using paste was a pain due to there being so many small ones so that was the reason i didn't give it ago.With the meat line now starting to slow down it was time to switch again over to the pellet line this saw me bag another 10 fish before the line went dead with just over the hour to go i decided to push both lines harder to see if i could up the catch rate this ment a larger cad pot for every put in with around 45 mins it looked like it was going to pay off with a fish a chuck.
With the all out called i wasn't sure if i had done enough with a noted Peg in view catching well on paste for most of the afternoon. Round came the scales and looking at the scores 46lb was the one to beat (no way i thought) out came the net and on to the scales went 24lb which i was happy with considering the conditions it had been bloody hard work today.Packing my kit away and returning to the car park i found out that i had just missed out on 3rd by 2lbs coming in 4th. On looking back if i had of fed more positive would i have had more fish who knows as i have said if you go in all guns ablaze and feed heavily it can turn into a nightmare. With the noted pegs picking up it was always going to be hard to compete against.
Next match MacMillian Charity Match at the same venue fingers crossed on a flier lol(in my dreams)

TOTAL FISHING CLUB WORLD SERIES MAKINS MATCH

Saturday saw me down Makins Fishery in one of the Total Fishing Club World Series matches trying to gain qualification to the final at the glebe.
Having turned up at the car park with the rest off the lads as well as my brother I got my kit out (leaving my pole in the holdall in the car) reason why we were all fishing phase 1 lake 2 which is known as a feeder water so out came my feeder and waggler rods.
Well at the draw my hand went into the bucket with the other 12 anglers and pulled peg 4a with my brother pulling 8a. Having got down to my peg i had a fair old chuck to the island in the middle (50 yards) so that was going to be my main plan method tight to the island. My back up plan was to use a pellet wag of to the left next to a island 20 odd meters out. Reason why i was going to throw it there and not into open water was the wind was blowing right to left and blowing into that bank so thought there would be some fish there if the method line slowed down.
After setting up all in was called using a Preston method Speed mould it wasn't long before i got into a rhythm throwing out the method tight to the island and quick.
The first hour was slow with plenty of indication on the tip and with it going round twice and losing both fish.
All the time this was going on i was flicking 3-4 8mm swimstim pellets out on that left hand line that i was going to throw the pellet wag over.
With no joy for the next hour on the method it was time for change out went the pellet wag straight away fish on and in the net (looks like my left hand line was going to pay off)
Out went the wagg again fish 2 in the net this carried on for a good 1 and a half hours catching a fish a chuck lossing around 6 due to snapped hook lengths and the odd hook pull but things were looking good.
Then it went dead the wind slowed down and I knew i was going to have a drama or two as the fish tend to move with the wind. My catch rate started to decrease I did notice the stamp of fish I had caught were not as big as I expected them to be.
The last hour saw me bag a few more before i deiced to throw the method out on my wagg line to see if they were on the bottom the last 20 mins saw me bag 2 on the method and all out was then called.
Having packed my kit away I had found out that the rest of my section had not caught as well and i was looking like section winner. On the weigh in that was confirmed with me weighing in 79lbs 10oz and taking the section.
Results were as follows
Gaz Wood, 15b, 114-8-0
Lee Taylor, 11b, 93-2-0
Mike Burrows, 13b, 87-4-0
Chris Glover, 4a, 79-10-0
With me winning my section it meant that i now qualify for the Total Fishing Club World Series Final at the Glebe later on in the year

SEEM TO GOT BEHIND WITH MY BLOG

Looks like my blog is now out of date reason for this is I have had family and work commitments and just really not had time. With work and family commitments coming first i have not had the chance to get out on the bank as often as I would of liked to still have been fishing the odd match here and there.
August I have a few matches lined up in the midlands whilst I am visiting family and friends these include
Total fishing world series qualifier at Makins 15th August
McMillian charity fishing match at Maynes fishery Hinckley
Total fishing pole only match at Drayton Reservoir
and what ever else i can book myself in for whilst I am up that way will make sure I post on here how i got on with the above matches
Tight lines
Chris

VIADUCT 22ND APRIL GROUP MATCH

Well 22nd of April saw me down at Viaduct on the monthly Army Angling Federation Group 2 match.
After making my way down there with Si taking about a hour plus the stop off at the golden arches we turned up.
After having a chat with fellow anglers it soon turned to draw time with one off our members missing we were never going to take the teams by storm this month so it was damage limitation.
Well the hand went in and out came peg 123 cambell lake (what a draw i thought known as a tench peg and it was in the corner ) couldn't have drawn better just hope the tench were there.
After getting to my peg and having a good look round i decided on the plan of attack ,1st line would be down the left 13m fishing into the corner for tench i would have a 13m line straight out and a 6m line off to the 2 o'clock position.
The pellet wag rod came out as did the bomb rod as the bottom end of the lake was empty and i would try there.
Rigs i was using was as follows 13m down the edge would be a 0.2 MW power slim with 0.14mm super g line line with a maver mt4 size 16 hook 10-12 elastic. For the 13m line to my front i would use MW power diamond 0.4 with 0.16mm line same as before super g line with a size 16 mt4 hook hair rigged pellet 14-16 elastic. The last line the paste line would be Hillbilly paste float with 0.18mm line straight threw with a drennan size 10 nu hook elastic of choice would be purple hydro.
All in was called and of i went feeding all three pole lines with pellet,corn and caster down the edge.
With entering the silver pools as well i decided to start with the silvers first catch a good bag then go for the carp so 13m down the edge i went first put in first tench this went on for a hour with every put in pulling out small tench then it went dead for 10-15 mins before the float buried and the elastic shot out carp number one hooked it didn't take long to have it in my net using a pulla bung. having gone back down the edge again it was dead maybe the tench had moved out due to the carp coming in so i decided to rest that line.
With fish topping down the end of the lake i deiced it was time for the pellet wag this is some thing i stuck with for about a hour and a half with no fish going for the bait after adjusting the hook length and trying different things i reeled in and put it down and wasn't going to touch it for the rest of the match. So out came the bomb rod same thing happened had the liners but no fish.
By now there was only two hours left and the only line i hadn't tried was the 13m to front of me so i i went shipped out and flicked a few 8mm pellets over the top thumb float gone fish on and elastic ripping out got the fish under control and got it toward the keep nets as soon as it saw the keep nets off it went again this time i got it in and carp no 2 in the net happy days. Straight back out again saw the float thunder under again carp no 3 in the in the net after a good scrap. looking at my 13m line in front it was now buzzing with fish (got the feeling of bag up times here at last!) out again fish on this time it ran for it after 5 mins back came the float at a great rate on knots with no fish. Ok of back out this time I managed to get it to the keep nets got its head up and could clearly see it was caught in the lip as soon as it saw the keep nets of it went this time it snapped me.

This now went on catching the odd one getting snapped up by others this saw me adjust my rig from 0.16mm size 16 hook to 0.18mm size 14 hook as i had lost 6 carp in a row!

with the adjustments made i shipped out again waited float gone yet again into another fish didn't take long before the fish was landed. What i did notice was the fish were running as soon as they saw the keep nets so i upped the elastic from black hydro to purple slackened off.

This helped me land a few more fish but as before yet again i was snapped good and proper having looked at my watch i had 15 mins left so instead of re-rigging i shipped out with the shallow rig as every time i had flicked 8mm pellets there were signs of fish shallow this saw me land one more carp just in time for the all out.

Having a quick 2 mins to myself i had counted i had lost around about 15 carp! all decent sizes between 7-14lb i just sat there gutted knowing full well i had thrown away a section win if i had of netted them all.

With the weigh in taking place i packed my gear and waited to be weighed in grand total of 49lb went on the scales having looked at the board winning weight was 137lb that made it worse as i knew i had lost over 100lb of fish.

Having got back to the car park it was happy to find out i had finished 3rd in the silver pools by default so at least a bit of money was coming my way lol

Having looked back at why i lost so many fish i just couldn't net them first time round when i had the chance i also think i went in a bit too light rig wise lesson learned this time round.

WILLOW PARK SUNDAY OPEN MATCH SMALL LAKE

Well Sunday 19th saw me down at Willow Park a place i have not visited since the Army Festival last September.
Having booked in with ir0027 and mini me we sat down to a nice brekie and a cuppa before the match.
Draw time saw me pull peg 24 small lake with advice coming in on how to fish the peg i settled down and deiced to fish two lines at 13m using two trees on the left hand bank as markers. Set up for both lines were a MW power diamond 0.3 gr with 0.14mm line straight through and a maver mt4 18 hook elastics would be Preston 13 hollow. I set a paste line up 6m out to the left with a MW paste float 0.2 gr with 0.16mm line straight through to a size 12 drennan nu hook.
Plan of attack was to use soft hookers (Willis worms)on the hook with 5-8 4mm pellets flicked over the top.
All in was called and away i set on the two 13m lines after half hour float was gone and a small carp was landed happy days. Whilst waiting for my next bite i had a look over a mini me for some strange reason he had got of his box while he had a fish on ! learned later that he hadn't set his landing net up (brought a smile to my face) with 5-8 4mm pellet getting flicked over the top of both 13m lines every 5 minutes it wasn't long before carp number two was in the net.
The next bite came quick and the float shot under out came the elastic and off it went managed to get it under control and started to ship back slowly another run saw the float return at a great rate of knots and no fish(bollocks!)
After re-rigging and plumbing the depth of i went again flicking the pellet out over the 13m line and before long carp number 3 in the net having a look to my right by the looks of things my bank wasn't doing well with the odd carp being landed no one was baggin.
Having had a hour of no action on both 13m lines and the paste line the float went again 13m out same as before elastic shot out and carp number two gone things not looking good with my bank not doing all that well the last thing i needed was start losing carp!. The thing was the carp were there just not there for long more interested in chasing each other round the lake (spawning by the looks of things)
Well all out was called with mini me weighing in 18lb odd ir0027 weighing in 10lb odd (lost alot of fish in one of the corner pegs) and me with a pitiful 8lb dead it wasn't what we hoped for even the hot pegs didn't produce (what a bummer)
well another match fished and another frustrating day don't know whats going on with my fishing at the moment but as i look at it if its good or bad who cares its a day out doing some ting i ENJOY!.

Chalis Tackle Spring Series Bowsaw Lake

Well after missing out on the fisho qual down at viaduct (was on the reserve list 15th might of been able to fish as i heard all the reserves that turned up fished!) had to work at very short notice. Si0027 manged to get down there and have a go drawing peg 1 on spring lake didn't really produce for him (better luck next time mate!)
My next match saw me down at Bowsaw lake on the Chalis Tackle Spring Series ,after traveling down with Si (si0027) in convoy with the rest of the lads as i hadn't a clue where i was going once i left the M3 we all got there in one piece.
With 24 anglers turning up it was a good start to the series. With most anglers having a good knowledge of the place and having fished it before i knew it wasn't going to be easy.I was going into this match blind as i hadn't had time to do any home work on the venue due to work commitments.
Well draw time i put my hand in and out came peg ten didn't have a clue what it was like till i got there. I asked around the lads who had fished down here before about the peg and got a bit of info.When i arrived i looked good with a island chuck of around 40 yards and a nice bit of open water to the front (pegs were a bit close in my eyes) but my main plan of attack was to use the method feeder tight to the island and have three lines on the pole one at 13 meters at 10 o'clock (there was a slight breeze) one at 5 meters at the 2 o'clock and one line down the right margin. All three lines to be fed using dampened 4mm pellet few grains of corn and a dash of hemp.
For floats i decided on using Hillbilly floats on all three lines two critters and a grizzly for the margin all three dotted right down.
Well all in was called and i wanted to start with the method feeder so off i went casting just of the island casting every 2-3 mins for the first couple of chucks just to get some bait down then 5-10 mins after that.
Straight away the rod shot round on reeling in nothing was there casting out again the same thing happened. I was now scratching my head at this one was it liners ? (not the way the rod was going round) out it went again after a few changes to the hook length it went round this time and finally a carp around 2lbs this was the first fish of the day and it had taken nearly a hour keeping my eye on the anglers left and right of me i noticed they had a had a few and i was now behind.
Again cast out and a light indication on the line saw me net a small carp of around 1lb. For the next hour i didn't get another fish from the island. The angler to the left had lost his method feeder on the island and had started on his 13m line to great effect bagging a few carp putting me further behind that was it time to cut my losses on the feeder and get on the pole. Fishing with corn on the hook it didn't take long before i had a bite and carp number 3 in the net (3lb) straight out again saw me net a few chub not of great size but it was starting to bump my weight up. The only problem was both anglers the left and right of me were bagging and looking at the time i had left it was out of reach to catch them up.
I kept going on 13m line catching two more carp and a few more chub,this was slowly turning into another blowout !
All out was called and i knew i hadn't done enough to frame with quite a few anglers getting big carp towards the end ,my other lines hadn't payed off and the feeder chuck was dead.
Having looked back there were alot of things i would have done different (going into a match blind doesn't help)
Well on weigh in it was confirmed i ended up with only 15lb and a rock bottom last of the match !
must be the worst result i have had .
A few lessons learned here and hopefully i wont make the same mistake again. Seem to have had a dip in form at the moment which will hopefully soon end and i can get back to winning ways.