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.

Army Angling Federation Group 2 Green Ridge Farm (Blowout!)

Right the next match that I was down to fish was a Army Angling Federation Group 2 match held on Green Ridge Farm. Having put the post code on my sat nav i went off in search (didn't know the sat nav would take me so far) in fact it took me A303 A34 then the M3 whats all that about?. Well i finally got there after giving the sat nav a few choice words and went to book in. On booking in i noticed the sections were split in A section canal lakes 1 and 2 ,B section canals 3 and 4 and C section the specimen lake (that's the one i didn't fancy!).
After having having a brew and a barbecue sausage (yes at 0800hrs in the morning) i got the team together (Royal Artillery Centre B Team) and had a quick couple of words and it was decided i would do the draw, I hate drawing because I all ways end up with a duff peg.
Well draw time rolled the dice and guess what C section what a sod just where i didn't want to draw!
Got to my peg (peg 6) and had a good look had a island at 13 and a half meters away which was first on my swims to set up looking to my right and left i had a free peg on the right looking good so far I thought.
So setting up i had a line at 13 and a half ,one off to the right about 2 o'clock and one down the right hand margin all three rigs used were Mick Wilkinson Power Slims with Super G 0.14mm line and Maver mt7 size 16 hooks all three floats dotted right down.
All in was called and off i went I had noticed when setting up the wind was starting to pick up blowing right to left I just hoped it didn't get any stronger. I decided to use maggot and 4mm pellet as bait feeding every put in with a pole pot.
After a hour on the 13 and a half meter line (island bank) with no fish i moved onto my 5 meter line at the 2 o'clock position no sign there either mmmmm hour and a half into the match not a bite.
Then on the two hour mark managed four roach one after the other then a nice chubb. Things starting to luck up then the float buried and the elastic shot out didn't last long before i was snapped (sods law first carp) after re-tying straight over again float yet again shot under another carp this time it hit the deck and wouldn't move ! at first i thought it was a snag but then it started to move and this time the elastic went slack (carp number two lost!) this the went on for another hour lost another two due to being snapped up or just losing them. I was told before the match that the carp fight like hell and go up to 36lbs and there were plenty of munters in there.
After four hours of hooking and losing them and getting blown around by the wind as it had picked up and blowing my pole all over the place i decided to play it safe didn't want broken pole sections to pay plus my island swim went dead as I could'nt get the presentation right . I moved back onto my 5 meter line and settled the float float shot under and finally carp number one in the net (about time) then that was it no more carp and the wind was now getting stronger to the point I was getting blown around on my 5 meter line it was blowing a gale !
whilst I had been busy on the other two lines I had fed the margins through out the match and went over to the left one looking to bag a few carp in the last hour.After having no signs for about 30 Min's I decided to call it a day and packed up with half a hour to go.
I to be honest had just had enough I lost more fish than I care to imagine and I had been blown around for most of the match due to the winder blowing a gale.
Some of you will say that the last hour is the best to bag up believe me there was nothing there to bag.
All out was called and I weighed in at just under 2 kilo (bad) I didn't hang around to find out the rest of the results as I was beaten and morale was at a low, not because i was a sore losser and had been beaten i was tired and fed up the wind had got the better of me today.
Out of the section I came 9th as one or two of the section had blanked or caught less that me.
Well I have learned one or two lessons from this match and will put the points into practise for my next match one of them being I need to learn how to start drawing better lol.
Looking back I smile at it now and am looking forward to my next match,1 bad result will not beat me and I am sure to find my winning streak again soon.
After speaking to one of the lads that fished si (ir2007) who came second in his section (well done mate) a couple of lads broke pole sections due to the wind blowing a gale (might of not had a good result but my pole came away in one peice)

NEW SPONSOR WILLIS WORMS !

I have now managed to secure a sponsorship deal with Willis Worms for that i would like to thank Denzil Thorpe for giving me the chance to represent his company and i hope this is the start of a exciting partnership.
As most of you have proberly heard of Willis Worms you will know the bait is produced to the highest standards even so former Fisho Mania winner Clive Wright is sponsored by them. I look forward to reporting my matches on here using Willis Worms bait.

Challis Tackle Invitation Spring Series

Well my blog seems to have slowed down at the minute due to work and family commitments
thought i would just keep you upto date and where I stand at the momment
Well good news on the fishing front I have now got on to Challis Tackle Spring Series which consists of 7 matches first one on the 5th of April. Will keep you all informed on how I do looking forward to this series as its the first time i have entered into this one.

Fixtures are as follows

Bowsaw lake 5th April
Viaduct Fisheries 12th April
Orchard lakes 19th April
Todber Manor Fisheries 26th April
Viaduct Fisheries 10th May
Todber Manor Fisheries 17th May
Orchard lakes 17th May

hopfuly I will be able to fish most venues all depends on numbers due to me not fishing last year

After that I have the Peril evening leauge comming up which consists of seven matches dates to follow

FISH O MANIA 2009 FIRST YEAR OF ENTRY AND WHAT A RESULT!!

Well as you all know by now the fisho mania draw is out so thought i would add a few words on it after watching it for a fair few years on the tv i deiced to have a go my self and entered into the draw for the first time.
Well I got a result getting to confirms and one reserve
I managed to get Viaduct as a reserve (going down there as si(ir0027 got a ticket) not to far down the reserves
for my confirms i got Maver Larford (be nice to rub sholders with some of the top match men that are down to fish)
and Willinghurst which i have had mixed results down there so should be interesting

as for every one else that got tickets good look and hope to see one or two of you around and about

April sees me having a busy month as well as May with the Andover Angling Club Spring Series starting in April which looks to be spot on venue wise and will throw up a couple of good results.
With the summer months fast approching you will notice my dairy dates will start to fill up very quickly.
May sees me taking part in the Peril evening leauge matches which there are seven off so will keep you posted on these as these are only three hour matches and can be quite tricky at times think i managed 4th overall last year so looking to improve on that this time round

BISHOPS CANNING CANAL STRETCH (THE ROLE GOES ON !)

Well as you can see from my fixtures my next match saw me back down to the K&A Canal once more at the Bishops and Canning stretch. With me not being able to get down there for a practise due to family and work commitments it was a slight stab in the dark (would my last results and methods work this time) sort of sketch!
Having made my way down through Peswey without crashing the car (ice on the road was lethal!) i booked in at the local and sat down to have my breckie (got to love a full fry up not the best i have had though) having a look around there didn't seem to be as many as the last match roughly around 33 booked in.With the ear out and about doing the listening thing looks like most people were on the bread punch ,which to be honest was all i brought with me as it worked last time and with the weather we had been having didn't see why it wouldn't work this time.
Having our team being called out i did the draw once again for our team ( me ,ir0027, tree)
with the pegs coming out of the bag having a good look at them i drew A section one of the end peg si (ir0027) drew on in his and tree middle of his section (not to bad two out of the three)
Off we went to our respected pegs good thing about the section i drew was it was just up from where i was last time i was down here.
Having got to my peg i noticed it was only around 9 meters to the far bank because of the reeds that had grown from the far bank straight away i thought fish heaven (it got to be!)
Having set up and broken the ice i decided to fish two swims one tight to the far bank and one around 3-4 meters out both using Tubertini Stix floats with a positive shotting pattern fishing one inch just of the bottom to start with.
All in was called and off I went straight to the far bank on the punched bread within 2 minutes i started to catch and was on fire fire for the first 30 minutes catching a fish a chuck with the end peg having a couple and to my right not catching. I deiced to give that line a rest as i didn't want it to dry up and went for my 3-4 meter line having spent 20-30 minutes with only a few fish it was back over to the far bank this time i was taking a couple of minutes to catch each fish then once again as i have learned down here it went dead.
I move my rig up another inch of the bottom and straight away started catching again only for it to dry up so i came away from the reeds by a foot and started catching there then once again it went dead!
Now i was scratching my head a fair bit as i wasn't putting a steady rate of fish in the net and i was having to adjust my rig on a regular basis to find them as soon as i did i would catch a few then it would go dead once more (this was turning out far trickier than i thought it would be) this carried on for the rest of the match with the end peg now catch slowly but steady i knew it would be close at the end i just didn't know how close.
With the all out called i didn't know if i had done enough for the section with the rest of the section finding it hard and having kept glancing over from time to time i noticed there wasn't much action going on.
I had a feeling i had framed but i didn't know if the end peg had done me well with the weigh in done i came out with 950 grams with the end Peg coming out with 1 kilo dead (dam it lol)
the weights through out the whole section were poor and it proved a hard match to fish si (ir0027) managed 1st in section and 3rd overall should do had a end peg lol and tree putting in a 5th place in his section gave us enough to finish top of the teams which was a result in its self.
Well that's it for the canals its on to the commercials now with the next match being greenridge farm which should be a good one get your feed and tactics right and its bag up time !

Back to the canal Bishops Canning 14th Jan 09

Well the next match saw me down on the canal again this time i wanted to improve on my earlier result in the first match.
This saw me down on the canal a few times once on Pewsey turning bay once on Wilcot road and once down to Bishops Canning to get a feel for the place.
With the weather temps dropping and ice being every where i decided to do away with ground bait squat and pinkies and to purely concentrate on the art of punched bread fishing as this is what i thought stood the best chance of winning at least the section if not the match.
Having played around with a crumb mix and also liquidized bread i opted for the liquidized kind as this looked as if it could give me the advantage.
After having practise sessions on the Peswey stretch i went down to the stretch that we would be fishing on the Saturday before the match on the Wednesday.
Having had a good day learning one or two things i was happy with the up and coming match.
Well match day came and doing the usual have a breckie and keep my ear out some of the methods that were going to be fished had me slightly puzzled?
Oh well come the draw bag i managed to pull C section drawing one peg of the end peg and it was looking good when i got there. Sticking to the bread i had a line 3 meters out using a Tubertini stix 4x10 and i had a line down the track 6-7 meters out same again Tubertini Stix this time 4x12 as with there being a slight tow i thought this one would do the trick.
All in called and a away i went (on my practise day i had on this stretch i noticed you had to feed quite often for your bites) so i kept that in mind and started of with slight caution so i could see how things developed it didn't take long before the fish started coming out the only drama was in all my practise sessions i had used one kind of bread on the hook not thinking before i went out that morning i pick up some bread which was a different make which in my eyes cost me a fair few fish. Reason being it wasn't coming out of the bread punch and when it did it didn't fluff up in the water it just stayed as a bread pellet the fish were biting but were backing off. This was turning into a bit of a distaster as i was losing half the fish i was catching I ended up switching between the two line more than i wanted this i feel was because of the bread on the hook.
Half way through the match it went dead lucky enough I had set up another rig and line to fish off down to the right of me just in case the fish move of my other two lines they were there thank god and off i went again.
With the bread on the hook being in my eyes shit i thought i had blown it and wouldn't be in the frame as there were some good canal anglers fishing in my section however i kept on going steadily catching fish switching now between three lines instead of two.
In the end i managed to get a total weight of 1 kilo 225 grams i thought i had blown it but it was enough for section second and a sigh of relief as i thought i had blown it.
By the looks of things certain people realised the bread was doing the damage and switched over to it but not in time to catch up i stuck to my guns and carried out the plan i had in my head it was the bread thing on the hook whiched got to me i reckon i would have doubled my catch but as they say lesson learned.
This time practise and preparation helped me on this match and at the moment seem to be picking up the results again 3rd 2nd 2nd in last three matches things seem to be looking up next match is back on the can at Bishops Canning 11th Feb 09 due to the Parrot down at Langport not being fishable.

BACK TO WITHY FARM FUR AND FEATHER 10TH DEC 08

Next match saw me back down withy farm for our groups fur and feather event. The match was to be held on on the snake lake which i was happy about as i hadn't fished the snake in a long while i knew if i drew well there was a good chance of fishing well.
The night before had seen some nasty frosts and most of the lake was iced over had a funny feeling the ice breakers would come out.
Well after a nice Beckie and a cup of coffee it was draw time i managed to draw the inner snake right hand side not to far off the car park cant remember the peg been a while.
I had the ice breaker out well bored it of si irwin (ir0027) and managed to brake to the far bank as i intended to do most of my fishing over there.
I decided to take a cautious approach to this one as i knew the snake at times can be tricky and with the frost it might prove difficult.I set up two lines one down the track and one tight to the far bank. I tried to keep my tackle as light as i could get away with as i knew the fish might not bother if they see a heavy hook and line.
For feed i was going to use micro pellet which i had soaked in liquid worm and added a few grains of hemp the night before and left it in the fridge. The way i was going to feed was to keep it positive and try and stay away from the negative approach and to keep the feed going in hoping the carp would come onto it later on in the match.
I started off down the track and sat on that line for half a hour not a bite and asked the fella to my right he was in the same position this line was quickly sacked for the mean time topped up and left.
The far bank swim i noticed started to show signs of fish there hook bait would be single red maggot fished over the pellet. For the next couple of hours i started catching a good stamp of roach and Rudd with every half hour topping up with a medium sized ball of pellet as i was still trying to draw the carp in.
The inside line was still not producing not a bite all match so after a few more times over it to see what was there and still nothing that was completely sacked for the rest of the match.
Back to the far bank and with a hour and a half to go the float shot under it was a carp (was this a lucky one or had they started to feed?) with light tackle being used it took me a while but it was landed.Straight back out there and once again another dip of the float and another carp looks like it had payed off after all.In it came and back out again same thing dip and i was into another carp i couldn't believe it now as i thought i might have blown it as there were one or two people catching further down the section. By this time now i had 3 carp in the bag i know it wasn't many and its hardly what you call bagging but it had put me in the frame all i needed to do was stop there now. I put back in on the far bank same again the float dipped and this time it took of down the lake this time i was snapped up by a bigger fish hook length gone. After resetting the rig up i went back over to the far bank and nothing had i spooked the fish off when i was snapped up ? i introduced more feed and sat back and waited with 15 Min's left i had another two carp which put me in a strong position for a section win.
All out was called and i found out i hadn't done enough for section win but i managed a section 2nd which made me smile as i had just done 3rd by 200 gr and first had done me buy a kilo which wasn't much its the story of the carp that got away again !! but still in the frame so i was happy.

OFF TO WITHY FARM A CHANGE OF FORTUNE?05 NOV 08

Next match saw us off to witherington farm which was put in place as our standby venue due to the River Parrott being unfishable.
All three lakes were in Cottage ,Sellwood and Barnmoor and having a breckie and sitting down and keeping my ears open i decided best place to draw was sellwood as that where the fish were showing the most.Hand went into the draw bag and section B came out (Sellwood) happy days i thought cant remember the peg no been a while i know it was in a corner and the wind had been blowing into that area all week (has lady luck finally came to give us a hand?)
I decided to fish right into the corner using micro pellet on the deck with with a soft expander over the top.
I decided to set another line up straight out in front around the 10 meter mark however i was expecting to catch any thing on it the depth must have been around 1 foot !!
water levels must of gone down i knew it wasn't all that deep but not that bad.
I set another line up towards the empty peg i had just of the corner where i had set a line up this line was deeper and was going to use the same tatics with pellet,
if the fish moved out of the cornor i was could move with them and just switch lines.
Right all in was called and away i went started slow to start with picking up the small silvers
but by the looks of things these could play a part as i couldn't see any one catching much in my section.
Half way through the match i was beginning to wonder if there were any carp in this corner ?
then dip float gone slight lift i was into a carp happy days i thought with 13hollow being pulled out it didn't take long to have it in the net a nice 3 pound carp couple more and i knew that what be enough for a section win. I reckoned i needed another 5 six in total with two hours to go float shot under again once again my elastic was showing and same as before didn't take long to have another one in the net. Things were looking up as i glanced around the lake i noticed one other fella catching next to me which could cause a problem as he wasnt catching carp but he was on the skimmers and nice big ones to boot.
I had two carp and a some good silvers in the nets but i need more i went on to land another two carp which gave me four how ever the fella on the skimmers was catch a good rate and i knew i needed a least another carp. The float shot under again with half hour to go it managed to tangle its self in the weeds which pissed me off and should have taken it slightly more care getting it out you can guess what happened next SNAP ! yep hooklength gone and no fish i knew that fish could have cost me how much i didn't know. A ll out was called and i knew i had blown it the fella next to me had started catching skimmers and bream and they just kept coming i had had a few carp and news was some on the far side to me had had a monster or two.
With the results in i found out that i was third in section being beaten by 500 gr for second and wasn't far off 1st that lost carp had cost me but hey i was back in the frame which was good to see.

LOOKING BACK AT THE END OF LAST YEAR

Right before we can go forward i am just going to touch on the back end of last year and where i find myself at the moment.
Well after a bad outing in the Army indivduals and team matches (all week bad outing)
i decided to have a months brake and just look at where i went wrong. Having looked on how i approched my swimms i noticed i didnt once get my feeder rods out and that every thing was done with the pole looking at this mistake now i relise that if i have had of got my feeder out i might of been looking at better results as i find my self a dab hand at feeder work. Lesson learnt in the way of dont get tunnel vision and just plough into it!
Well after that our group matches were to start up again with the first being on the K&A Canal at Bishops Canning on the 1st of Oct 08.
With no practise going into the match i was a bit nervous (after having a shit festival) i was now looking a getting my results back up there (like they were before the festival) i drew my pegg which put me near enough in the middle of the section which i knew stright away i would have my work cut out.
I planned to have a line down the inside about three meters out and one down the track 7 meters out and not really bother with the far bank as i had heard there wasnt many bigger fish showing over there.
Having got the all in i potted in my ground bait and got to work fishing pinkey over the top of the ground bait.
Stright away my float shot under producing a good sized roach i caried on catching like this for around a hour then all of a sudden it went dead might have been the two pike me and the lad to my right had seen in the swims every thing was tried but just couldnt get a bite i looked down to the left and right of me i wasnt the only one alot of people had the same problem.
All out was called i knew i had done bad starting off so well for it to come to a bad slow end.
Results were collected 12th in section which was a shock as it looked like my bad run was going to carring on.

A bit about me and how i started

Right here we are decided to start my own blog so i can keep track of what i have achieved in the world of match fishing.
Well to start of i am 26 serving in the British army with 1st Royal Horse Artillery and have been for the last 8 years.I am currently posted out of the regiment to 14 Regiment Royal Artillery.
Now down to the fishing side of things I have been fishing for around 4-5 years most of that was just pleasure fishing with my brother( who got me into to fishing)
Started of with only the basic items just to get me by and went every now and then when i had time.
My brother asked me if i wanted to enter a match one Friday night and i thought well might as well give it a go, so tipped up on the Saturday morning payed my pennies and drew my peg. Having enjoyed it the first time round i went back again and again every time learning more from the other anglers i was fishing agasit needless to say i was pools fodder for a long time time till i got to know the lake.
After a while i started to frame a 3rd here a 2nd there i was doing quite well (well i was happy any way)
This is how i kept going for a few years some good results some bad but all the time learning (it did help i was fishing against the likes of Andy Findlay) who i learnt alot off. I have never seen some one bag as many times as him not good when your on the peg next to him!!!
when i moved down south i stopped with the match fishing and just kept up the pleasure fishing side of things as i was unaware that the army had its own match fishing team.
I was posted from my unit over to 14 reg RA over in larkhill and just happened to mention that i used to match fish well that was it shoved straight into the team since then i have never looked back.
I now fish for 14 Regiment Royal Artillery who are apart of the army angling federation which is split down into groups depending on location through out the UK our group is group two which covers some of the south east.
each year the group fishes around 12 matches per year ranging from canals,rivers,lakes,carp puddles all competing to gain qualification into the army and team finals which take part once a year over a week long period.Last year saw me qualify for both the army individual finals and team finals which was a big achievement as i had only just got back into the swing of things.
Well the week festival didn't go as planned and ended up having a poor festival.
Lesson learnt preparation prevents piss poor performance !!!
This year i have to do it all over again to qualify for the festival
the aim of my blog is just to keep you up to speed in how my fishing is going