August 12th 2012 - Bristol Avon at Newbridge
Peg 128 in Newbridge
After the previous weeks win on the canal, my confidence was high even though I was pretty in experienced on the Bristol Avon. We had had a bit of a team issue the Saturday meaning we were a man down which would mean we will be behind before a bait is cast. We made a decision to go for it, we were too far down the league to mount a challenge and with a man down realistically we were out of it. There are a number of big Bream in Newbridge so the plan was a simple one. Go on the pole for the first hour then go straight on the tip and sit it out and hope that a big slab or two turn up. The Roach line died within 20 mins, so it was onto the feeder and pray for Bream!
The Bream gods were not smiling on any of us today though as I only managed one bite for one small skimmer and no signs of anything else. My 1lb 8oz was very poor and the bottom end of the section, but it was the decision we made to go for Bream so you got to live with it. Had we been in with a shout there was the inside perch line to target, which was done by a lot of the locals who knew that it was going to be a tough day to secure vital points. It has been a tough league with some tough flooded venues and harsh lessons for our young team. It has though for all the bad days given us a sense of team spirit and determination that we will suceed in the future.
The Bream gods were not smiling on any of us today though as I only managed one bite for one small skimmer and no signs of anything else. My 1lb 8oz was very poor and the bottom end of the section, but it was the decision we made to go for Bream so you got to live with it. Had we been in with a shout there was the inside perch line to target, which was done by a lot of the locals who knew that it was going to be a tough day to secure vital points. It has been a tough league with some tough flooded venues and harsh lessons for our young team. It has though for all the bad days given us a sense of team spirit and determination that we will suceed in the future.
August 5th 2012 - Gilwern Canal
The stunning Canal in Gilwern
My first match in three weeks due to my holiday to Madeira was back on my favourite venue the Mon and Brec Canal in Gilwern. If you have read my bio or know me you will know I was brought up in Gilwern and the Canal here played a major role in getting me into fishing and match fishing. The canal fishing rights are now controlled by Cwmcelyn Angling Club who do a sterling job in managing the canal and their other local pond. I had planned to join this club for a while and finding out that they had a match on the canal was the perfect chance for me to do so.
Not having fished the Canal for a year or so I spent most of the day before getting my kit ready, checking pole elastics, tieing rigs and making sure my bait was perfect.
The breakfast and draw was in the Corn Exchange, one of my old local pubs and from there I drew out peg 15 which was behind the pensioners complex half way down the straight. I would have liked to have had peg one or two but you have to go with the hand your given. There was a decent turnout for this match too which was nice to see and as I walked to the peg there was a real sense of remanissing of matches on there in my younger days!
My plan was simple but tried and tested in hundreds of canal matches over the years, I had 3 methods, my bread line, a caster line and my "doing rig". I started on the punch by putting in a few small punches of groundbait and dropping a 5mm punch over the top. It took about 5 mins to get my first bite which was no shock to being a small Roach. I caught about 15 of these over the course of the first hour when as predicted the swim dried up. I went over then on the caster line to look for a few more larger Roach but worryingly there were none willing to take a caster or maggot. After an hour so more trotting through it only resulted in a few Gudgeon so that plan was aborted. It was then I picked up my "doing rig", in all the years that I have fished the canal this rig never lets me down, such is the confidence I have in the method I knew it was the right decision to take. You need a bit of paitience for this method but it has rewarded me so much over the years I know I can win matches on this rig alone.
After about half hour on this rig, the float went under and the number 4 elastic went flying out after a decent scrap a nice 12oz eel was in the net. The fishing was hard so bites were rare but the rig came up trumps again and produced a decent roach and perch before the whistle went. I knew it would be close as it was a low weight match but when the scales got to me and I weighd 2lb 4oz to take the lead I was unsure if it was enough. Danny Baker weighed 2lb 3oz and another angler had weighed 2lb 2oz so it had indeed been close but the doing rig had come up trumps again and won me the match.
It was back to the Corn then for the payouts and its fair to say that I picked up a very tidy sum for this Canal win, in fact far more than you would expect from a commercial!
I take my hat off though to Chris and Cwmcelyn Angling Club for taking over the stretch, and getting anglers back on the towpath. They manage their fisheries extremely well and promote the sport with a strong junor section and coaches to boast.
Great bunch of guys and a great day!
Not having fished the Canal for a year or so I spent most of the day before getting my kit ready, checking pole elastics, tieing rigs and making sure my bait was perfect.
The breakfast and draw was in the Corn Exchange, one of my old local pubs and from there I drew out peg 15 which was behind the pensioners complex half way down the straight. I would have liked to have had peg one or two but you have to go with the hand your given. There was a decent turnout for this match too which was nice to see and as I walked to the peg there was a real sense of remanissing of matches on there in my younger days!
My plan was simple but tried and tested in hundreds of canal matches over the years, I had 3 methods, my bread line, a caster line and my "doing rig". I started on the punch by putting in a few small punches of groundbait and dropping a 5mm punch over the top. It took about 5 mins to get my first bite which was no shock to being a small Roach. I caught about 15 of these over the course of the first hour when as predicted the swim dried up. I went over then on the caster line to look for a few more larger Roach but worryingly there were none willing to take a caster or maggot. After an hour so more trotting through it only resulted in a few Gudgeon so that plan was aborted. It was then I picked up my "doing rig", in all the years that I have fished the canal this rig never lets me down, such is the confidence I have in the method I knew it was the right decision to take. You need a bit of paitience for this method but it has rewarded me so much over the years I know I can win matches on this rig alone.
After about half hour on this rig, the float went under and the number 4 elastic went flying out after a decent scrap a nice 12oz eel was in the net. The fishing was hard so bites were rare but the rig came up trumps again and produced a decent roach and perch before the whistle went. I knew it would be close as it was a low weight match but when the scales got to me and I weighd 2lb 4oz to take the lead I was unsure if it was enough. Danny Baker weighed 2lb 3oz and another angler had weighed 2lb 2oz so it had indeed been close but the doing rig had come up trumps again and won me the match.
It was back to the Corn then for the payouts and its fair to say that I picked up a very tidy sum for this Canal win, in fact far more than you would expect from a commercial!
I take my hat off though to Chris and Cwmcelyn Angling Club for taking over the stretch, and getting anglers back on the towpath. They manage their fisheries extremely well and promote the sport with a strong junor section and coaches to boast.
Great bunch of guys and a great day!
July 8th 2012 - River Huntspill Super League
The Huntspill is a very wide river but during normal summer time (if there is such a thing in the UK), it is very slow moving and not that deep either. At times you wouldn't know it was moving. The main target was for skimmers with Roach as a back up on three lines, the long pole, feeder and waggler. However some storms in the week had pushed a lot of flood water into the river and although it was down level wise it was tanking through and the pole line was out of the question. I set up two rods a feeder at about 18m's and a waggler line as back up to hopefully snare a few Roach if it was very tough.
The river is controlled by lock gates and when we got to the pegs the level was down but as the level was controlled it rose and rose during the day to an extent of most people having to move the boxes back at least 3 times during the course of the match. This couldnt have helped the fishing at all and it was a difficult day all round, I managed to put 6 skimmers in the net for 4lb which was a poor show for the day.
I was very glad that I was heading off to Madeira on my holidays that night I can tell you!
The river is controlled by lock gates and when we got to the pegs the level was down but as the level was controlled it rose and rose during the day to an extent of most people having to move the boxes back at least 3 times during the course of the match. This couldnt have helped the fishing at all and it was a difficult day all round, I managed to put 6 skimmers in the net for 4lb which was a poor show for the day.
I was very glad that I was heading off to Madeira on my holidays that night I can tell you!
26th June 2012 - Phocle Farm Feature for Improve Your Coarse Fishing
Photo Courtesy of Improve your Coarse Fishing Magazine
I was back out on the banks with Mark Parker from Improve Your Coarse Fishing Magazine doing a feature at the lovely Phocle Farm Fishery www.phoclelake.co.uk on a different approach to margin fishing.
You'll have to see the next edition of the magazine (number 262) for the feature but it was a day were there were ots of bites but only a select few from Carp!!
Many thanks to Phocle Lakes and Mike Blowers for their help with this one.
You'll have to see the next edition of the magazine (number 262) for the feature but it was a day were there were ots of bites but only a select few from Carp!!
Many thanks to Phocle Lakes and Mike Blowers for their help with this one.
24th June 2012 - Briston Avon Super League Match
As the week went on and we formulated our team attack for this match the rain kept falling and the rivers rising. Locals had said that it would take a lot of water for the Bristol Avon to Flood and .....we had a lot of water!
We hadnt seen the river when we got to the draw but the organiser called the captains to vote if we would fish or postpone. The vote was to fish so the draw was made.
I drew D section which was just up from the marina, and when I say just up I mean about 2 miles away from the car park! It was a horrendous walk over 3 styles, 3 fields until I got to the peg and just looked at it in dismay. The river was well up, chocolate brown and boiling over with very little slack.
I assesed the swim for a few minutes and decided to set up a feeder rig with my heaviest 60g feeder, a pole rig for down the edge and a whip for bleak.
The day was a nightmare, I could only hold bottom under the rod top but even that was hard work with a feeder and hook full of weed being brought in every cast. There was a huge amount of snags there also and I ended up losing 6 feeders, 2 leads and a pole rig to the underwater objects!
My saving grace from a blank was a small bleak hooked on the whip of half ouce. Nightmare of a day on a basically un fishable swim. The river rose through out the day too so it got worse as we went on rather than better. It was days like today I was glad to be on the road home after the 2 mile walk back to the car!
We hadnt seen the river when we got to the draw but the organiser called the captains to vote if we would fish or postpone. The vote was to fish so the draw was made.
I drew D section which was just up from the marina, and when I say just up I mean about 2 miles away from the car park! It was a horrendous walk over 3 styles, 3 fields until I got to the peg and just looked at it in dismay. The river was well up, chocolate brown and boiling over with very little slack.
I assesed the swim for a few minutes and decided to set up a feeder rig with my heaviest 60g feeder, a pole rig for down the edge and a whip for bleak.
The day was a nightmare, I could only hold bottom under the rod top but even that was hard work with a feeder and hook full of weed being brought in every cast. There was a huge amount of snags there also and I ended up losing 6 feeders, 2 leads and a pole rig to the underwater objects!
My saving grace from a blank was a small bleak hooked on the whip of half ouce. Nightmare of a day on a basically un fishable swim. The river rose through out the day too so it got worse as we went on rather than better. It was days like today I was glad to be on the road home after the 2 mile walk back to the car!
17th June 2012 - Manor Farm Boundary Pool
This was a bit of a strange weekend as we were suppose to have fished a super league practise match on the Bristol Avon at Crane. However with a week of solid rain and river levels rising we made the wrong decision to abort the practise match and do our own thing. We had heard on the Saturday that the Avon was rising, coloured and not in a good condition so Luke and I decided to save the haul to Bath and head up to Evesham instead for a visit to Manor Farm. I was pretty pleased as I drew out 34 as it was the area I wanted to be. Having had a fair bit of experience on Boundary Lake over the years I opted to start on the pellet feeder then go on the long pole and Pellet line. I cupped in a few big pots of pellets when the hooter went and then chucked the tip rod out with dampened 4mm pellets and a 6mm banded on the hook. Bites were slow and it took about half an hour to get the tip pulled round which turned out to be a sprightly small carp about 1lb.
It wasn't really happening on the tip though so I went on the pole line and started catching straight away, With regular feeding I was building a decent weight together on the day and was starting to fancy my chances as the fish kept coming as those around me were sat looking at tips.
My bites dried up though and the last hour was a killer for me as the ones who were watching their tips started to catch, and catch well.
I didnt have a bite in that last hour and tipped 48lb on the scales which sadly put me 4th as the tip anglers who had stuck at it all day came on on top with 70lb the best weight. Nice day though but we were both gutted to hear that the river match not only went ahead but was won with 85lb of Bream! Lesson learnt for next time.
It wasn't really happening on the tip though so I went on the pole line and started catching straight away, With regular feeding I was building a decent weight together on the day and was starting to fancy my chances as the fish kept coming as those around me were sat looking at tips.
My bites dried up though and the last hour was a killer for me as the ones who were watching their tips started to catch, and catch well.
I didnt have a bite in that last hour and tipped 48lb on the scales which sadly put me 4th as the tip anglers who had stuck at it all day came on on top with 70lb the best weight. Nice day though but we were both gutted to hear that the river match not only went ahead but was won with 85lb of Bream! Lesson learnt for next time.
10th June 2012 Iffers Match - Redhill Fishery
After 5 hours with only one bite I decided to fish the Iffers Club match on Redhill fishery in Monmouth. Its great as its only 30mins from home and you can guarantee some bites!
The iffers club are a great bunch of guys and it really is a joy to go fishing with them now and again as you soon remember what fishing is all about. The seriousness of the Gloucester Canal the previous week was replaced by a very laid back match that was just what the doctor ordered. Although they do take it seriously as they fish to a league system it is a great crack with good banter going on through out the day.
The match itself was difficult but was won with 78lb by Darren Saunders who caught well shallow all day in the top corner to my right.
I weighed in just under 40lb again all taken on the long pole and pellet but it was a very enjoyable day with a great bunch of anglers.
The iffers club are a great bunch of guys and it really is a joy to go fishing with them now and again as you soon remember what fishing is all about. The seriousness of the Gloucester Canal the previous week was replaced by a very laid back match that was just what the doctor ordered. Although they do take it seriously as they fish to a league system it is a great crack with good banter going on through out the day.
The match itself was difficult but was won with 78lb by Darren Saunders who caught well shallow all day in the top corner to my right.
I weighed in just under 40lb again all taken on the long pole and pellet but it was a very enjoyable day with a great bunch of anglers.
27th May - 3rd June - Gloucester Canal
My time between the dates above was soley taken up by practising for and fishing the opening round of the South West Super League with my Sensas Nomads Team. On the practise match on the 27th I drew the hard stretch down at Rea and managed 1 Bream, 1 Roach and an Eel. This stretch hadnt been fished for many months as the long grass showed. But despite that as a team we formulated a team plan that we were confident that would work on the day. On the day of the match I was a little dismayed to see that I was drawn 10 pegs away from where I was the previous week. At least I knew what to expect I thought, or did I!! The match proved to be even harder than I imagined with one bite all day resulting in one skimmer and a last but one in the section. We didnt figure very well as team either again finishing last but one suffering two dry nets. The Canal had fished hard and very cruel to a lot of anglers not just from our team but from others who had put a lot of time and money into the match, But thats team fishing and although we were dissapointed all round afterwards it made us more determined to make up for it in future rounds.
Hillview Lakes - 19th May 2012
With not much on this weekend myself and fellow Nomad Simon decided to give the open on Hill Veiw Lakes a try. Heard some good things about it with some decent fishing, good turn outs and plenty of bites.
Sure enough there was well over 20 anglers booked in on this open and after a good breakfast I went in the hat and drew peg 13 on the far end of the first canal. Not really where I wanted to be as i'd always prefered the lakes but never mind can only go where we draw.
I had two swims that I was going to target, the first tight over and the second one close in the margins, both on a pellet and corn approach.
On the all in I cupped over two pot fulls of pellets and a sprinkle of corn and went over it with a soft pellet on the hook. The float buried instantly and within seconds I was playing a 3lb carp to the net. For the first 6 put ins I had 6 carp varying from 1lb up to 3lb and thought the signs were good for a decent days sport.
As quick as they switched on however they switched off and the swim dried ip despite regular kinder cups of pellets to try and keep them occupied. I did try putting a few big pot fulls in again but they didnt really switch back on and although I had bites throughout the day I couldn't keep them in the margins or tight over.
I ended up with 36lb which was 2nd in section and a little dissapointing as the first half hours fishing I really thought I could have been on for a big weight. Simon faired 2lb better than I did but no brown envelopes in the van as we headed back to South Wales!
Sure enough there was well over 20 anglers booked in on this open and after a good breakfast I went in the hat and drew peg 13 on the far end of the first canal. Not really where I wanted to be as i'd always prefered the lakes but never mind can only go where we draw.
I had two swims that I was going to target, the first tight over and the second one close in the margins, both on a pellet and corn approach.
On the all in I cupped over two pot fulls of pellets and a sprinkle of corn and went over it with a soft pellet on the hook. The float buried instantly and within seconds I was playing a 3lb carp to the net. For the first 6 put ins I had 6 carp varying from 1lb up to 3lb and thought the signs were good for a decent days sport.
As quick as they switched on however they switched off and the swim dried ip despite regular kinder cups of pellets to try and keep them occupied. I did try putting a few big pot fulls in again but they didnt really switch back on and although I had bites throughout the day I couldn't keep them in the margins or tight over.
I ended up with 36lb which was 2nd in section and a little dissapointing as the first half hours fishing I really thought I could have been on for a big weight. Simon faired 2lb better than I did but no brown envelopes in the van as we headed back to South Wales!
Durleigh Reservoir 12th May 2012
I visited Durleigh last year and was really impressed by the Bream and Skimmer fishing so another pleasure day there was a bit over due. I didn't pick the best of days however as although it was dry and bright there was a gale force wind ripping down which made bite spotting and accurate casting very difficult indeed. I only set up my champions choice 12foot feeder rod up with the 2oz tip in as had to used a large 50g feeder (due to the wind). This was set up in paternoster style with 5lb Browning Feeder line to a 3.3lb 2 foot Hooklength with a size 18 B611 hook. The groundbait was a mix of a sweet fishmeal and brown crumb mix and double red maggot on the hook.
Despite the conditions it didnt take long for the skimmers to move in and after about 15mins and 8 casts I had my first Skimmer of about 8oz or so. I was missing a few bites however due to the strong wind bouncing the tip around and several times on retrieval the maggot was smashed with out me seeing any notification of a bite. To try and get more agressive feeding I started to add some red maggots to the feeders. The idea behind this was that if they start snapping at loose feed offerings instead of grazing on the groundbait, it should help the fish engage in competition to eat the maggots.
I kept plugging away though still introducing the maggots through the feeder and I also shortened the hooklength right up and had to also feeling the line the old fashion way to try and sort out the bites.
It wasnt too long though of doing this with the loose feed and the tip got pulled right around and a nice 3lb propper bream was in the net. But despite having lots more small skimmers this was the only propper one of the day. The wind got up to such an extent that it was even blowing over my groundbait bowl complete with groundbait!! So I called it a day at around 3pm and admitted defeat to the wind.
I ended up with about 10 skimmers plus the 3lb Bream so a nice day despite the gales!!
Despite the conditions it didnt take long for the skimmers to move in and after about 15mins and 8 casts I had my first Skimmer of about 8oz or so. I was missing a few bites however due to the strong wind bouncing the tip around and several times on retrieval the maggot was smashed with out me seeing any notification of a bite. To try and get more agressive feeding I started to add some red maggots to the feeders. The idea behind this was that if they start snapping at loose feed offerings instead of grazing on the groundbait, it should help the fish engage in competition to eat the maggots.
I kept plugging away though still introducing the maggots through the feeder and I also shortened the hooklength right up and had to also feeling the line the old fashion way to try and sort out the bites.
It wasnt too long though of doing this with the loose feed and the tip got pulled right around and a nice 3lb propper bream was in the net. But despite having lots more small skimmers this was the only propper one of the day. The wind got up to such an extent that it was even blowing over my groundbait bowl complete with groundbait!! So I called it a day at around 3pm and admitted defeat to the wind.
I ended up with about 10 skimmers plus the 3lb Bream so a nice day despite the gales!!
Fish o Mania Qualifier - Larford Lakes 5th May 2012
My second and final Fish o Mania qualifier was on the brilliant Larford Lakes complex in Stourport. I was really looking forward to this one as the venue is superb and full of fish.
When I got there it was a very pleasant morning, bit of a northerly wind but dry and generally pretty good conditions.
I drew peg 39 on the match lake, and when I got there was more than happy with what I saw. I had an empty peg to my left which was in the corner behind the island with the wind blowing into it. Happy days I thought we could be on here today for a decent day. My original plan had been to fish the bomb with a banded 6mm pellet over a bed of pellets. This went out of the window here though as there wasn't enough room in the bay to cast a bomb and the margin line to the empty peg to my left had now become my attack..
The match kicked off and I went straight on the margin line and very quickly had 5 3 F1's and 2 Carp in the first half hour. If that could continue then I would surely been in with a shout. The wind then dropped and the lake went flat calm, and the bites dried up. I dont know if the two were connected or not but I had a bad dry spell where I really struggled to get a bite despite trying other pole lines to my left and in front.
I wasn't the only one though, It was the same for all of us in that bay though Rob Hitchens to my left, Richie Hull opposite and the guy to my right all stopped catching and we were left scratching our heads. Towards the end of the match I upped the feed and started to cup in sweetcorn with the pellet to try and get the swim back to life. It did work to a certain extent and in the last hour or so I netted another 4 propper carp to weigh in 18kilos (39lb 6oz) . It beat most in the bay and section apart from Richie Hull who also had a good late run in and weighed in 22kilos. It was a decent day though and nice fishing. The match was won by Stu Ballard who weighed an impresive 58kilos of Speci lake peg 13. Well done that man!
When I got there it was a very pleasant morning, bit of a northerly wind but dry and generally pretty good conditions.
I drew peg 39 on the match lake, and when I got there was more than happy with what I saw. I had an empty peg to my left which was in the corner behind the island with the wind blowing into it. Happy days I thought we could be on here today for a decent day. My original plan had been to fish the bomb with a banded 6mm pellet over a bed of pellets. This went out of the window here though as there wasn't enough room in the bay to cast a bomb and the margin line to the empty peg to my left had now become my attack..
The match kicked off and I went straight on the margin line and very quickly had 5 3 F1's and 2 Carp in the first half hour. If that could continue then I would surely been in with a shout. The wind then dropped and the lake went flat calm, and the bites dried up. I dont know if the two were connected or not but I had a bad dry spell where I really struggled to get a bite despite trying other pole lines to my left and in front.
I wasn't the only one though, It was the same for all of us in that bay though Rob Hitchens to my left, Richie Hull opposite and the guy to my right all stopped catching and we were left scratching our heads. Towards the end of the match I upped the feed and started to cup in sweetcorn with the pellet to try and get the swim back to life. It did work to a certain extent and in the last hour or so I netted another 4 propper carp to weigh in 18kilos (39lb 6oz) . It beat most in the bay and section apart from Richie Hull who also had a good late run in and weighed in 22kilos. It was a decent day though and nice fishing. The match was won by Stu Ballard who weighed an impresive 58kilos of Speci lake peg 13. Well done that man!
Fish o Mania Qualifier - Woodlands View 25th April 2012
I managed to get two fish o mania qualifiers this year, the first one on Woodlands View in Droitwich. The forecast wasnt good and basically it emptyed down from the moment I left the house until I got home again.
I drew on Back Deans 54, in the middle of no mans land really, smack in the middleof the far bank with 15 anglers on it. Due to the horrendous weather I had decided on 3 lines of attack, the first a pellet feeder line out to the aerator in the middle of the lake, the second a 6m line on the pole fishing corn over pellet and the third a margin line.
The match started quite well and I had a few early Carp and F1's on the tip before the bites dried up. I went in on the pole line and had an F1 first cast, happy days I thought they must be there! Unfortunatley they weren't and I only had a few more silvers on the line after that, The same went for the margin line with only a few small skimmers for 5 hours of feeding it up! I went back on the pellet feeder line and did manage a few more fish including a nice double figure mirror around 12lb. My 35lb was no where near enough on the day and was miles off the lake win let alone the match.
In hindsight I should have stuck to the pelet feeder line all day instead of messing around with the pole for too long as think now if I had stuck to that I could have snuck enough to be up there on the lake which was won with 54lb off noted peg 64. Jamie Hughes won the match and qualified for the final on a day where many packed up early and went home!
It certainly gave the water proofs a good testing though!
I drew on Back Deans 54, in the middle of no mans land really, smack in the middleof the far bank with 15 anglers on it. Due to the horrendous weather I had decided on 3 lines of attack, the first a pellet feeder line out to the aerator in the middle of the lake, the second a 6m line on the pole fishing corn over pellet and the third a margin line.
The match started quite well and I had a few early Carp and F1's on the tip before the bites dried up. I went in on the pole line and had an F1 first cast, happy days I thought they must be there! Unfortunatley they weren't and I only had a few more silvers on the line after that, The same went for the margin line with only a few small skimmers for 5 hours of feeding it up! I went back on the pellet feeder line and did manage a few more fish including a nice double figure mirror around 12lb. My 35lb was no where near enough on the day and was miles off the lake win let alone the match.
In hindsight I should have stuck to the pelet feeder line all day instead of messing around with the pole for too long as think now if I had stuck to that I could have snuck enough to be up there on the lake which was won with 54lb off noted peg 64. Jamie Hughes won the match and qualified for the final on a day where many packed up early and went home!
It certainly gave the water proofs a good testing though!
Hartleton Lake Practise - Wednesday 28th March 2012
After a gruelling few weeks concentration on the Gloucester Canal I booked a day off work and decided to give my favourite match venue a days practise.
It was a stunning day with temperatures above the seasonal average and peaking at about 17c.
I had two methods to approach with today, the first a caster line at 13m fishing double caster on the hook over a sweet fishmeal graoundbait (Bait Tech Kult).
The second approach was method feeder with double red maggots at about 30 turns out so not a big chuck.
I started by cupping in 2 balls of groundbait with a sprinkle of casters and hemp mixed in to try and nail the skimmers over the feed and get them to confidently take loose feed offerings.
It was a stunning day with temperatures above the seasonal average and peaking at about 17c.
I had two methods to approach with today, the first a caster line at 13m fishing double caster on the hook over a sweet fishmeal graoundbait (Bait Tech Kult).
The second approach was method feeder with double red maggots at about 30 turns out so not a big chuck.
I started by cupping in 2 balls of groundbait with a sprinkle of casters and hemp mixed in to try and nail the skimmers over the feed and get them to confidently take loose feed offerings.
Method feeder loaded and ready to go!
Whilst that line was settling down I had a few casts on on the method feeder, I used the Browning Champions Choice 10ft Bomb rod with 3lb main line to a 0.12 hooklength and a size 18 B611 Hook. After a couple of casts the tip went round prety confidently and a nice skimmer was in the net. Another 2 followed shortly after but then they vanished so it was time to give the pole line and my main attack a try.
The Bait waiter loaded up! (click to enlarge)
I kinder cupped another punch of groundbait in with a sprinkel of casters and waited. The rig I was using today was a dotted down float which was double bulked with a sixe 18 hook. The double bulk rig is deadly for skimmers and very positive way of fishing for them. The float either burys or it lifts in the water as the skimmer takes the bait and corrects itself in the water. The float lifted about 5 mins after I'd gone on this line and I lifted into a lovely 1lb 8oz Skimmer, for every fish I was catching I was potting in a punch full of groundbait and about 5 casters.
I think this was key to keep the skimmers in the swim as they have a habit of drifting off especialy in matches so it was something I wanted to try out and prove.
This method worked a treat and I ended up with around 12 skimmers plus a few roach for good measure in just a few hours fishing. A good result which would have given a decent match weight and above all else it was a really nice days sport in the Ross on Wye countryside.
I think this was key to keep the skimmers in the swim as they have a habit of drifting off especialy in matches so it was something I wanted to try out and prove.
This method worked a treat and I ended up with around 12 skimmers plus a few roach for good measure in just a few hours fishing. A good result which would have given a decent match weight and above all else it was a really nice days sport in the Ross on Wye countryside.
March 17th & 18th 2012 - Gloucester Canal Sensas Challenge Final
Well between the Pen y Clawd match and the middle of March basically most of my time was spent practising for the Sensas Challenge Final with my Cardiff Nomads Team.
We had a couple of practise sessions on Hemstead in preparation for the new look nomads teams first propper outing.
On the first day as we were a man over, I offered to run the bank to give a few of the new lads the chance to experience the big event. We had a steady first day and some very respectable section placings, but with still a lot to do on the Sunday.
I fished on the sunday and drew a good section but sadly the wrong end and struggled for bites and finished in the bottom half of the section. We did get the tactics slightly wrong on the second day as well, over feeding with groundbait and joker. We learnt a lot though and it was a valuable lesson in not only the venue but the style of fishing and the big team event. Congratulations to Diawa Gordon League who put in a fine performace and showed that local knowledge is paramount on situations like these.
We had a couple of practise sessions on Hemstead in preparation for the new look nomads teams first propper outing.
On the first day as we were a man over, I offered to run the bank to give a few of the new lads the chance to experience the big event. We had a steady first day and some very respectable section placings, but with still a lot to do on the Sunday.
I fished on the sunday and drew a good section but sadly the wrong end and struggled for bites and finished in the bottom half of the section. We did get the tactics slightly wrong on the second day as well, over feeding with groundbait and joker. We learnt a lot though and it was a valuable lesson in not only the venue but the style of fishing and the big team event. Congratulations to Diawa Gordon League who put in a fine performace and showed that local knowledge is paramount on situations like these.
Iffers Match Pen y Clawd Farm 26th Feb 2012
It was a lovely February day that saw 20 Iffers anglers desend on the Canals at Lower Pen y Clawd Farm Fishery.
DIdnt really know what to expect here as had never fished the canal lakes before so it was a suck it and see!
The info I got was mixed as well, some saying concentrate down the track, others saying a 5m line and tight up the shelf. I decided to have a mixed approach, one 5 m line on pellets, one down the track on pellet and corn and one just down the far shelf. Pegging as with any commercial snake lake wasnt generous and an end peg would obviously be a huge advantage. My plan wasnt very precise and I only managed carp and a DNW!
On refelection, the method on the day was to fish liquidized corn mix tight over or too a feature if you had any.
Young Sam Prosser on the end peg won the match and fished a blinder to weigh 47lb of Carp and Barbel.
A pleasant day in nice scenery and with great company but dissapointing on the fishing perspective.
DIdnt really know what to expect here as had never fished the canal lakes before so it was a suck it and see!
The info I got was mixed as well, some saying concentrate down the track, others saying a 5m line and tight up the shelf. I decided to have a mixed approach, one 5 m line on pellets, one down the track on pellet and corn and one just down the far shelf. Pegging as with any commercial snake lake wasnt generous and an end peg would obviously be a huge advantage. My plan wasnt very precise and I only managed carp and a DNW!
On refelection, the method on the day was to fish liquidized corn mix tight over or too a feature if you had any.
Young Sam Prosser on the end peg won the match and fished a blinder to weigh 47lb of Carp and Barbel.
A pleasant day in nice scenery and with great company but dissapointing on the fishing perspective.
Port Talbot Docks Open 5th Feb 2012
The tip didn't move a lot on the Docks for me or Gary Martin
It had been a bitterly cold few days leading up to this match, the day before South Wales had a pounding from heavy snow showers so the signs were not good even for the dock. Still myself, Andy Neal and Glyn Sherwood ventured down hoping for a few bites at least.
My approach today was simple, one feeder rod set up with 0.12 hooklength to a size 16 red maggot hook. The hooklength was about 2 foot long on a paternoster rig to 4lb Maxima Reel line.
Bait wise I had mixed maggots and caster for the hook, and my groundbait mix was 50/50 mix of Supercup and Brown Crumb.
I drew peg 11 on the boards which was ok, I had old mates Gary Martin to my left and Clive Robers to my right. I Started off at 30 turns, and 3rd cast I was pleasantly suprised to see the tip nodding round quite violently. Struck into it and was playing a quality 10oz Roach to the net. It was the first fish of the match which was still the first fish of the match 3 hours later where despite some tinkering with hooklengths and rigs no bites for me or anyone else in the match.
I wasnt counting my chickens however and knew that at anytime someone could start catching and my measly 10oz lead would be wiped out.
Sure enough shortly after that Gary Martin to my left was playing a smaller Roach followed by Glyn up on 15 and Branson on 9.
With about an hour to go, there was a few of us with Roach but then Andy up on 8 who was sitting it out has his first and only bit of the day which turned out to be a 2lb Bream and he flew into the lead.
I was chucking a little further by now as was edging my way out bit by bit to around 45 turns.
After leaving it static for about 20mins I thought I saw the tip move, and then again. I leaned into it and sure enough the tip bent round and I was playing my second fish of the day which was a nice skimmer that was played as if my life depended on it.
Despite trying the same again there were no more bites and I weighed in 1lb 6oz which came in 5th but good enough for a section win. Andy won it with his solitary Bream that went 2lb 1oz, Glyn Reynolds was 2nd with 1lb 10oz. Branson 3rd with 1lb 8oz and Mal 4th with 1lb 7oz. Gutted I was 4oz off 2nd but I did win the section so all was not lost.
It was an interesting day none the less, and I hope the next trip is a little milder with a few more bites!!
My approach today was simple, one feeder rod set up with 0.12 hooklength to a size 16 red maggot hook. The hooklength was about 2 foot long on a paternoster rig to 4lb Maxima Reel line.
Bait wise I had mixed maggots and caster for the hook, and my groundbait mix was 50/50 mix of Supercup and Brown Crumb.
I drew peg 11 on the boards which was ok, I had old mates Gary Martin to my left and Clive Robers to my right. I Started off at 30 turns, and 3rd cast I was pleasantly suprised to see the tip nodding round quite violently. Struck into it and was playing a quality 10oz Roach to the net. It was the first fish of the match which was still the first fish of the match 3 hours later where despite some tinkering with hooklengths and rigs no bites for me or anyone else in the match.
I wasnt counting my chickens however and knew that at anytime someone could start catching and my measly 10oz lead would be wiped out.
Sure enough shortly after that Gary Martin to my left was playing a smaller Roach followed by Glyn up on 15 and Branson on 9.
With about an hour to go, there was a few of us with Roach but then Andy up on 8 who was sitting it out has his first and only bit of the day which turned out to be a 2lb Bream and he flew into the lead.
I was chucking a little further by now as was edging my way out bit by bit to around 45 turns.
After leaving it static for about 20mins I thought I saw the tip move, and then again. I leaned into it and sure enough the tip bent round and I was playing my second fish of the day which was a nice skimmer that was played as if my life depended on it.
Despite trying the same again there were no more bites and I weighed in 1lb 6oz which came in 5th but good enough for a section win. Andy won it with his solitary Bream that went 2lb 1oz, Glyn Reynolds was 2nd with 1lb 10oz. Branson 3rd with 1lb 8oz and Mal 4th with 1lb 7oz. Gutted I was 4oz off 2nd but I did win the section so all was not lost.
It was an interesting day none the less, and I hope the next trip is a little milder with a few more bites!!
Port Talbot Docks Open 22nd Jan 2012
I have been really fancying a trip to Port Talbot Docks for a while now as its been throwing up some great weights of Bream, Skimmers and Roach. Fellow Nomads Clive, Luke and myself had booked in to fish this one and we were prepared with a game plan!
The first point on the docks is that it is very, very deep. At 30 turns the depth is around 35-40ft which takes the feeder about 15 - 20 seconds from hitting the water to landing on the bottom. It is an out and out feeder venue, the poles and waggler rods were left in the shed as there is little point it fishing with anything other than a feeder.
My set up was a short Champions Choice 10ft bomb rod throwing a 20g groundbait feeder about 34 turns. The rig was a paternoster which was on 3lb main line to 0.12 hooklength. Hook wise I used a red size 16 maggot hook which had a longish shank, and the hooklength was about 3ft long.
The second line was a bit further out at 45 turns, the business end was the same but with a heavier 30g larger feeder to carry a bit more groundbait.
My groundbait mix for this was a sweet mix of Supercup, Secret and Brown Crumb, for the hook I had mixed maggots, worms and corn.
I drew peg 9 which I thought was a decent draw as it was an end peg and probably one of the most sheltered on the bank as the wind was blowing a houlie!
To start off I put in a number of quick casts on the short line which resulted in one Roach in the first half hour. At this point I was only putting in groundbait through the feeder and no loose feed. I couldnt get any caster before hand so had no option other than to start feeding maggot through it. This had an instant response, but from Roach. Some were real clonking fish as well up to 14oz and Mal the organiser even landed one well over a 1lb!
As the match wore on it was pretty evident that the skimmers weren't there as all I could get was Roach, so I picked up the other rod and gave it about a dozen chucks on the long line to get a bit of bait down before coming back in to snatch a few more Roach. When I did go back out long, about 10mins in the tip went round and at last it was a skimmer. It wasn't quite "hey presto" though and I had another long weight until the next one was in the landing net.
I knew I hadn't done no where near enough to get close to the frame today but in a funny sort of way felt happy as I had learnt a lot about the place in the process. I only weighed in 8lb14 of Roach and the 2 small Skimmers and the match was won by the Silver Fox Gary Martin with a real quality 30lb bag of Bream. My main mistakes this match was the loose feeding of the maggots, i'd only brought the small Roach into the peg and the Bream didnt get a look in. Already looking forward to next time though as feel a lot happier there now after this very interesting match. Clive came 3rd with 20lb so was a good effort from him, was also great to catch up with Mal Entwhistle, Mike Towler and Gary Martin as hadn't seen them in a good while.
Roll on the next trip to the mighty docks!
The first point on the docks is that it is very, very deep. At 30 turns the depth is around 35-40ft which takes the feeder about 15 - 20 seconds from hitting the water to landing on the bottom. It is an out and out feeder venue, the poles and waggler rods were left in the shed as there is little point it fishing with anything other than a feeder.
My set up was a short Champions Choice 10ft bomb rod throwing a 20g groundbait feeder about 34 turns. The rig was a paternoster which was on 3lb main line to 0.12 hooklength. Hook wise I used a red size 16 maggot hook which had a longish shank, and the hooklength was about 3ft long.
The second line was a bit further out at 45 turns, the business end was the same but with a heavier 30g larger feeder to carry a bit more groundbait.
My groundbait mix for this was a sweet mix of Supercup, Secret and Brown Crumb, for the hook I had mixed maggots, worms and corn.
I drew peg 9 which I thought was a decent draw as it was an end peg and probably one of the most sheltered on the bank as the wind was blowing a houlie!
To start off I put in a number of quick casts on the short line which resulted in one Roach in the first half hour. At this point I was only putting in groundbait through the feeder and no loose feed. I couldnt get any caster before hand so had no option other than to start feeding maggot through it. This had an instant response, but from Roach. Some were real clonking fish as well up to 14oz and Mal the organiser even landed one well over a 1lb!
As the match wore on it was pretty evident that the skimmers weren't there as all I could get was Roach, so I picked up the other rod and gave it about a dozen chucks on the long line to get a bit of bait down before coming back in to snatch a few more Roach. When I did go back out long, about 10mins in the tip went round and at last it was a skimmer. It wasn't quite "hey presto" though and I had another long weight until the next one was in the landing net.
I knew I hadn't done no where near enough to get close to the frame today but in a funny sort of way felt happy as I had learnt a lot about the place in the process. I only weighed in 8lb14 of Roach and the 2 small Skimmers and the match was won by the Silver Fox Gary Martin with a real quality 30lb bag of Bream. My main mistakes this match was the loose feeding of the maggots, i'd only brought the small Roach into the peg and the Bream didnt get a look in. Already looking forward to next time though as feel a lot happier there now after this very interesting match. Clive came 3rd with 20lb so was a good effort from him, was also great to catch up with Mal Entwhistle, Mike Towler and Gary Martin as hadn't seen them in a good while.
Roll on the next trip to the mighty docks!
Visit to Zebco 9th & 10th Jan 2012
Monday 9th January saw me flying out to Hanover to visit the Zebco Head office and Warehouse.
After meeting Anthony in the airport I flew out and spent an excellent and informative day at the Zebco offices.
As well as trying the immense new Z12 Pole I also got to see the operation of tackle design and the full range of kit that they have in the impressive show room.
They all made me feel very welcome there and thanks to Anthony and Frerk for the hospitality.
I'm really looking forward to working with the team there further.
After meeting Anthony in the airport I flew out and spent an excellent and informative day at the Zebco offices.
As well as trying the immense new Z12 Pole I also got to see the operation of tackle design and the full range of kit that they have in the impressive show room.
They all made me feel very welcome there and thanks to Anthony and Frerk for the hospitality.
I'm really looking forward to working with the team there further.
Nomads Update Jan 2012
Our new look Cardiff Nomads Team held its first Fishing meeting on Sunday 8th January at Hartleton Lake in Ross on Wye, the full squad attended and it was a great day.
Lee Green won on the day and Glyn Sherwood 2nd, but the standard of the team as a whole was excellent and the positive vibes continue and we are all looking forward to the next meeting.
For further details of the team please click on the Nomads sign <<<< to the left which will take you to the new Nomads Website.
Lee Green won on the day and Glyn Sherwood 2nd, but the standard of the team as a whole was excellent and the positive vibes continue and we are all looking forward to the next meeting.
For further details of the team please click on the Nomads sign <<<< to the left which will take you to the new Nomads Website.
Nomads Update Dec 2011
I am delighted to have commited to the Cardiff Nomads Team for 2012. The team is going through a revamp this year with a flood of new and young talent joining this established and respected team. The team has signed up to compete in the South West Super League in 2012 and we are all looking forward to the challenge. The squad for next season is Clive Branson, Shaun Parsons, Luke Richards, Chris Wilkins, Simon Davies, Lee Green, Iain Swanson. There is still a bit of recruitment to do before the summer so watch this space for more news.
As well as the new crop there is still a few of the old guard including Larry Salter, Marin Challenger who although are available won't commit fully to the super league just yet.
The Team is actively looking for a sponsorship for the coming season so if anyone reading this can offer sponsorship or would like to join the Cardiff Nomads team please get in touch using the contact me section.
As well as the new crop there is still a few of the old guard including Larry Salter, Marin Challenger who although are available won't commit fully to the super league just yet.
The Team is actively looking for a sponsorship for the coming season so if anyone reading this can offer sponsorship or would like to join the Cardiff Nomads team please get in touch using the contact me section.
Machine Pond Piking 11th December 2011!
My mate Andy Neal suggested a Piking trip and I really fancied a crack at that for a nice change.
The Wye where we'd planned to go was bank high and unfishable so it was over to the Machine Pond where I caught my first fish that we headed. Andy and I use to fish this as kids so it was a real blast from the past to go back there after all these years.
It was a dire day weather wise and after trying Roach and Smelt deadbaits all over the far bank of the lake we didnt get one take off a croc so it was a dry day.
It was great to go back there there after all this time and it brought back a lot of happy memories of fishing there as a child with my Uncle Bryn.
We've penciled in another Pike trip over the festive period hopefully on the river so will look forward to that one
The Wye where we'd planned to go was bank high and unfishable so it was over to the Machine Pond where I caught my first fish that we headed. Andy and I use to fish this as kids so it was a real blast from the past to go back there after all these years.
It was a dire day weather wise and after trying Roach and Smelt deadbaits all over the far bank of the lake we didnt get one take off a croc so it was a dry day.
It was great to go back there there after all this time and it brought back a lot of happy memories of fishing there as a child with my Uncle Bryn.
We've penciled in another Pike trip over the festive period hopefully on the river so will look forward to that one
Iffers Christmas Match 4th December 2011 - Hartleton Lake
It had been a freezing cold week in the lead up to this match, but I was really looking forward to it and the craic with all the guys from Iffers. Despite the cold snap we were all optamistic at the draw that there would be a few fish caught.
I drew 64 in the woods, bit of confusion on the pegging as a lot of the pallets had been ripped out and thus removing the numbers but we all found home in the end and settled down to set up.
I set up two pole rigs a long line at 13m and a short line at 5m, I also set up a maggot feeder and groundbait feeder to go with them as searching for the fish could be the order of the day.
I started off by cupping a few dampened 4mm pellets in on the 13m line and then going on the tip, my feeder was a groundbait cage feeder with a long tail and double dead red maggot on the hook. Whilst I was on the tip which resulted in zero bites I may add, I was pinging a few pellets just to top up the swim.
An hour into the match I hadnt had a bite, neither had Martin Porter to my left, Bart to my right and Darren 2 pegs to the left. The signs of a hard day wer very much on the cards. Word had got around that Hammer up in he shallows had landed a 18lb Carp second chuck (it turned out o be 14lb!) but it looked like we were all fishing for second place now. About 2 hours in something happened, the float dipped and slid under, I lifted into and very carefully played a 1lb 9oz Skimmer which made me feel a whole lot better. I'd caught that on a 6mm breadpunch and thought that more would be following. I was wrong! Despite trying ever trick in the book the fish were not playing today. There was no sign of any Roach, which I was banking on to make up a few pounds but it was not to be. I ended up with 1 fish for 1lb 9oz which was still good enough for a section win as there were 3 blanks in my section.
Hammer won the match with 26lb which was a 14lb Carp and the rest a few good Skimmers, the next weight down was about 10lb so even with out the Carp he would have won.
After the match we all went back to the malt shovel inn in Ruadean for the annual Christmas meal and presentation evening. The night was again a great success and many thanks to organiser Glyn Sherwood not only for the evening and the Christmas match but for the entire season of matches that are always run fairly and extremely well organised. I look forward to next season with earnest!
I drew 64 in the woods, bit of confusion on the pegging as a lot of the pallets had been ripped out and thus removing the numbers but we all found home in the end and settled down to set up.
I set up two pole rigs a long line at 13m and a short line at 5m, I also set up a maggot feeder and groundbait feeder to go with them as searching for the fish could be the order of the day.
I started off by cupping a few dampened 4mm pellets in on the 13m line and then going on the tip, my feeder was a groundbait cage feeder with a long tail and double dead red maggot on the hook. Whilst I was on the tip which resulted in zero bites I may add, I was pinging a few pellets just to top up the swim.
An hour into the match I hadnt had a bite, neither had Martin Porter to my left, Bart to my right and Darren 2 pegs to the left. The signs of a hard day wer very much on the cards. Word had got around that Hammer up in he shallows had landed a 18lb Carp second chuck (it turned out o be 14lb!) but it looked like we were all fishing for second place now. About 2 hours in something happened, the float dipped and slid under, I lifted into and very carefully played a 1lb 9oz Skimmer which made me feel a whole lot better. I'd caught that on a 6mm breadpunch and thought that more would be following. I was wrong! Despite trying ever trick in the book the fish were not playing today. There was no sign of any Roach, which I was banking on to make up a few pounds but it was not to be. I ended up with 1 fish for 1lb 9oz which was still good enough for a section win as there were 3 blanks in my section.
Hammer won the match with 26lb which was a 14lb Carp and the rest a few good Skimmers, the next weight down was about 10lb so even with out the Carp he would have won.
After the match we all went back to the malt shovel inn in Ruadean for the annual Christmas meal and presentation evening. The night was again a great success and many thanks to organiser Glyn Sherwood not only for the evening and the Christmas match but for the entire season of matches that are always run fairly and extremely well organised. I look forward to next season with earnest!
Manor Farm Open, Sunday 20th November 2011
Was quite looking forward to this match as I havent been to Manor Farm Leisure in a fair while. This open match was to be held on Boundary Pool which has been a happy hunting ground in the past so I was quite optamistic when travelling threre. I had prepared everything down to a fine art, bait was fresh and immaculate, all new rigs and hook lengths were done so I could not have prepared any more than what I did.
I drew and pulled out peg 8, which wasnt really the best but not too bad. If I could have selected my peg it would have been 14-16 as thats generally the better area in winter time. But you get what the gods of the draw bag give you so headed off to my peg.
First shock was that the level was down by a good 2ft and we were setting up on what is normally the inside ledge swim. I planned two main lines of attack, a method feeder with a banded 6mm on top of a feeder full of dampened pellets. The second line was the long pole at 14m fishing an 4mm or 6mm expander over again a bed of dampened feed pellets. As a back up plan incase the pellet didn't work I has had a kilo of worms ready to be chopped up!
On the off I cupped in a cup full of feed pellets on the 14m pole line and then had a chuck on the method while that was settling down.
Whilst I was fishing the tip I was pinging a few pellets in through the catty to keep the feed going in.
An hour on the tip gave not one bite, not even a nod! There had been two carp caught on the tip a couple of pegs to my left but no one else was catching which didnt look good! I tried the pole line and failed again to get a bite, I wasn't the only one however no one was catching on the pole or tip.
Time for plan C so in went a cup full of chopped worms to see if I could snare anything, another 40mins or so went by with out any movement on the float.
Finally, about 3 hours into the match the float went under and thankfully a nice plump 10oz Roach was in the net. Sighs of relief were breathed as I was have serious thoughts of blanking!
I continued to drip feed chopped worm in through a toss pot and the float sailed under again, this time the elastic stretched out a bit and it was a Carp. Not a one that would break any records but on a day like today it was very welcome indeed.
I thought that this was probably the best plan to continue with so apart from having the odd experimental chuck on the tip I stuck it out for the rest of the match .
I weighed in a dissapointing 11lb which was no where near enough on a very difficult day, Chris Cameron won the match with 55lb off fancied peg 16. Superb performance by Chris who was a clear 20lb away from his nearest challenge of 30lb off peg 12.
Still on reflection I dont know if I would have done any thing different as they just weren't there!
There's always next time.
I drew and pulled out peg 8, which wasnt really the best but not too bad. If I could have selected my peg it would have been 14-16 as thats generally the better area in winter time. But you get what the gods of the draw bag give you so headed off to my peg.
First shock was that the level was down by a good 2ft and we were setting up on what is normally the inside ledge swim. I planned two main lines of attack, a method feeder with a banded 6mm on top of a feeder full of dampened pellets. The second line was the long pole at 14m fishing an 4mm or 6mm expander over again a bed of dampened feed pellets. As a back up plan incase the pellet didn't work I has had a kilo of worms ready to be chopped up!
On the off I cupped in a cup full of feed pellets on the 14m pole line and then had a chuck on the method while that was settling down.
Whilst I was fishing the tip I was pinging a few pellets in through the catty to keep the feed going in.
An hour on the tip gave not one bite, not even a nod! There had been two carp caught on the tip a couple of pegs to my left but no one else was catching which didnt look good! I tried the pole line and failed again to get a bite, I wasn't the only one however no one was catching on the pole or tip.
Time for plan C so in went a cup full of chopped worms to see if I could snare anything, another 40mins or so went by with out any movement on the float.
Finally, about 3 hours into the match the float went under and thankfully a nice plump 10oz Roach was in the net. Sighs of relief were breathed as I was have serious thoughts of blanking!
I continued to drip feed chopped worm in through a toss pot and the float sailed under again, this time the elastic stretched out a bit and it was a Carp. Not a one that would break any records but on a day like today it was very welcome indeed.
I thought that this was probably the best plan to continue with so apart from having the odd experimental chuck on the tip I stuck it out for the rest of the match .
I weighed in a dissapointing 11lb which was no where near enough on a very difficult day, Chris Cameron won the match with 55lb off fancied peg 16. Superb performance by Chris who was a clear 20lb away from his nearest challenge of 30lb off peg 12.
Still on reflection I dont know if I would have done any thing different as they just weren't there!
There's always next time.
Sponsorship with Browning
I am delighted to announce that as of Friday 11th November I have officially joined Team Browning as a sponsored angler.
This is a massive step for me to be associated with such a prestigious and well know brand and am really thankful to Frank and Ferek of Browning for making the offer.
As well as being able to have the best tackle available I hope it is the start of a long association where I can help develop my fishing further and assist in some tackle developments and indeed represent the brand well.
This is a massive step for me to be associated with such a prestigious and well know brand and am really thankful to Frank and Ferek of Browning for making the offer.
As well as being able to have the best tackle available I hope it is the start of a long association where I can help develop my fishing further and assist in some tackle developments and indeed represent the brand well.
No Fishing for 2 weeks!
Due to unforseen circumstances I haven't managed to get out fishing for two weeks now. The reason....a broken number 5 section of my pole. I actually broke it a few weeks ago but was using it telescopic to avoid missing any fishing. Now we are in a quieter time of year match wise, I decided it had to be done so I sent the section off to Scott Lane at Esselle Pole repairs to be profesionally repaired.
The section is due back some time w/c 14th November so am hoping to be back out on the banks next weekend.
I know through previous experience of using Esselle that the repair will be first class and a lot cheaper than the £240 price tag for a new section.
The section is due back some time w/c 14th November so am hoping to be back out on the banks next weekend.
I know through previous experience of using Esselle that the repair will be first class and a lot cheaper than the £240 price tag for a new section.
Llangorse Lake Video
The video I did on fishing the slider is now out on the Go Fishing Website.
Click on the photo here to go to the link and view the video
Click on the photo here to go to the link and view the video
Hartleton Lake Pairs Match 1st October
My pairs partner Wayne Meek and I went into this match in pole position as we won the first round back in June with a total of 31 Points. The pack were hot on our tails however with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th pairs tied on 28 Points. So we had it all to do as we headed in to this the final round.
It was a scorching October day and the temperatures were seasonally high so the sun tan cream was applied!
We drew the pegs and I drew 53 in the field and Wayne drew 40 in the forest which was a fair draw for both of us. My plan of attack was to target the skimmers on the long pole and method feeder. If that failed then I had a rig set up for roach on the inside line.
On the all in I fed a generous big pot full of Grand Prix Match soft feed pellets squeezed together to form a jaffa sixed ball. Everyone else went straight out on the tip but I decided to kick off on the pole in the hope to draw the fish in to my peg whilst the rest were chucking feeders. It started off slow though and bites were hard to come by, I did manage 2 good skimmers in the first hour or so that were around 2lb a piece and looking around that didn't seem too bad. No one was catching on the tip so I stuck it out on the pole line. My rig on this line was a MAP hitl float bulk shotted with 5 stotz and one dropper to a size 16 Kamasan B611. The bites were finicky and it seemed that as soon as you would hook a fish the shoal would back off and you'd need to re feed to pull them back in It was a bit of a strange situation as I was feeding quite heavily considering the fish for feed ratio. I caught steady through the match by doing this and ended up weighing in a shade under 12lb of skimmers which was quite good on the day. The method feeder failed to work and the Roach weren't feeding in any numbers either. I knew I had beaten a few around me except Andy Reid next door who had a good mid match run and as expected he beat me by a few fish. Out of the 7 I could see I beat 5 of them but had no idea how that would lie in the match and for points.
Good news was though that Wayne had walked the match with an impressive 40lb of skimmers taken on punched meat, whether my weight would give us enough points to retain our lead was remained to be seen.
Match organiser Glyn Sherwood did the maths and confirmed that it was enough and we had one the match and the pairs series.
Happy days!!
It was a scorching October day and the temperatures were seasonally high so the sun tan cream was applied!
We drew the pegs and I drew 53 in the field and Wayne drew 40 in the forest which was a fair draw for both of us. My plan of attack was to target the skimmers on the long pole and method feeder. If that failed then I had a rig set up for roach on the inside line.
On the all in I fed a generous big pot full of Grand Prix Match soft feed pellets squeezed together to form a jaffa sixed ball. Everyone else went straight out on the tip but I decided to kick off on the pole in the hope to draw the fish in to my peg whilst the rest were chucking feeders. It started off slow though and bites were hard to come by, I did manage 2 good skimmers in the first hour or so that were around 2lb a piece and looking around that didn't seem too bad. No one was catching on the tip so I stuck it out on the pole line. My rig on this line was a MAP hitl float bulk shotted with 5 stotz and one dropper to a size 16 Kamasan B611. The bites were finicky and it seemed that as soon as you would hook a fish the shoal would back off and you'd need to re feed to pull them back in It was a bit of a strange situation as I was feeding quite heavily considering the fish for feed ratio. I caught steady through the match by doing this and ended up weighing in a shade under 12lb of skimmers which was quite good on the day. The method feeder failed to work and the Roach weren't feeding in any numbers either. I knew I had beaten a few around me except Andy Reid next door who had a good mid match run and as expected he beat me by a few fish. Out of the 7 I could see I beat 5 of them but had no idea how that would lie in the match and for points.
Good news was though that Wayne had walked the match with an impressive 40lb of skimmers taken on punched meat, whether my weight would give us enough points to retain our lead was remained to be seen.
Match organiser Glyn Sherwood did the maths and confirmed that it was enough and we had one the match and the pairs series.
Happy days!!
Llangorse Lake Improve Your Coarse Fishing Feature
Being filmed by Bauer Media's Iain Toombs
Tuesday 20th of September saw me out with Mark Parker and Iain Toombs from Improve your Coarse Fishing Magazine. The day wasn't the greatest with low cloud, rain, mist and generally dull! However the fishing was great and although will keep the finer points for you to read in the magazine and see on the video Llangorse lived up to its high standard and fished well.
If anyone would like any info on Llangorse or would like me to "Guide" them on there for a day please contact me on the "contact me" section and I'll be only too happy to act as a guide or help where I can.
If anyone would like any info on Llangorse or would like me to "Guide" them on there for a day please contact me on the "contact me" section and I'll be only too happy to act as a guide or help where I can.
Durleigh Reservoir, Somerset
Durleigh Reservoir complete with marker bouys!
I had heard some good things about this place with some cracking Bream fishing on offer so had to take the trip down the M5 to Somerset to give it a go. I met a friend Matt in Sedgemore Services on route for a bit of breakfast and then it was off to this very large reservoir for some Bream hunting.
Matt suggested we set up just past the cabin which thankfully wasn't too much of a walk!
The main attack was going to be on the tip, so I decided to start off on the method feeder as a bream can resist the method can they?! Wrong!
I had a good skimmer first cast and for the next half an our the tip stayed still while Matt's tip was going round quite frequently!
I decided a change of plan was in order and noticing a bit on movement closer in, changed to a standard cage feeder with a 3ft tail.
This seemed to work and it was non stop then for the rest of the day with some lovely sport from Skimmers to around 2lb and the odd bigger slab. I used a ground bait mix of Grand Prix Match Cypry Spice mixed with brown crumb and given a few shots of Brasem to sweeten it up a bit. On the hook was quite simply a bunch of red maggots, they were not too fussy so there was no need to complicate things too much.
We had a cracking day, despite the reservoir being around 20ft down and I ended up with about 40lb or so of Skimmers.
Its a cracking venue and one I'll definitely be visiting again in the future.
Matt suggested we set up just past the cabin which thankfully wasn't too much of a walk!
The main attack was going to be on the tip, so I decided to start off on the method feeder as a bream can resist the method can they?! Wrong!
I had a good skimmer first cast and for the next half an our the tip stayed still while Matt's tip was going round quite frequently!
I decided a change of plan was in order and noticing a bit on movement closer in, changed to a standard cage feeder with a 3ft tail.
This seemed to work and it was non stop then for the rest of the day with some lovely sport from Skimmers to around 2lb and the odd bigger slab. I used a ground bait mix of Grand Prix Match Cypry Spice mixed with brown crumb and given a few shots of Brasem to sweeten it up a bit. On the hook was quite simply a bunch of red maggots, they were not too fussy so there was no need to complicate things too much.
We had a cracking day, despite the reservoir being around 20ft down and I ended up with about 40lb or so of Skimmers.
Its a cracking venue and one I'll definitely be visiting again in the future.
Llangorse Lake Pleasure Day
I decided that for the pending feature for Improve your Coarse Fishing Magazine I need to get some practice in due to the sheer magnitude of Llangorse Lake. So a friend and I ventured out in gale force conditions on a fact finding mission as it is a few years since I have fished there. After quite a bit of rowing around we found an area that was around 15ft deep so I set us up on a slider rig, I used a Kamasan 3SSG Waggler with the bulk around 2 feet from a size 16 hook.
I'd heard off locals that it takes around 20-30mins for the fish to settle on the ground bait so once we had anchored up in went a bucket full of groundbait about foot away from the boat. I had a fish first chuck, only a small roach but it was a bite!
Sure enough after about 20mins or so of small roach the fish really started to move in and it was literally a bite a case all day long. Superb roach to 1lb 8oz and Hybrids to about 2lb were being caught and quite frankly it was a truly awesome day. I did hook one fish that I can only presume was a big old slab as the rod bent over double with a lot of heavy nods before breaking me on the way up. Boy I wish I could have seen that fish as it felt very big!
I finished with around 40lb I think of Roach and Hybrid and am now in total awe of the place, can wait to get back out there as it was certainly the best days fishing for silvers I have had in a long time!
Thanks to Garn the lake manager at Llangorse for the info and the use of the boat today and for the feature and also Neil Roberts for taking a few cracking pics, cant wait to get back out there with the IYCF team!!
I'd heard off locals that it takes around 20-30mins for the fish to settle on the ground bait so once we had anchored up in went a bucket full of groundbait about foot away from the boat. I had a fish first chuck, only a small roach but it was a bite!
Sure enough after about 20mins or so of small roach the fish really started to move in and it was literally a bite a case all day long. Superb roach to 1lb 8oz and Hybrids to about 2lb were being caught and quite frankly it was a truly awesome day. I did hook one fish that I can only presume was a big old slab as the rod bent over double with a lot of heavy nods before breaking me on the way up. Boy I wish I could have seen that fish as it felt very big!
I finished with around 40lb I think of Roach and Hybrid and am now in total awe of the place, can wait to get back out there as it was certainly the best days fishing for silvers I have had in a long time!
Thanks to Garn the lake manager at Llangorse for the info and the use of the boat today and for the feature and also Neil Roberts for taking a few cracking pics, cant wait to get back out there with the IYCF team!!
Next Magazine Feature
Just booked in for my next feature for Improve your coarse fishing magazine, taking place next month it will be about a top location in the welsh countryside and bream, roach and hybrid fishing. Will let you know how the day goes and when its in the shops!
Piked Out on the Avon!
Last Sunday (7th August) saw me fish a practice match on the Bristol Avon for next weeks Super League Match. Myself and Cardiff Nomad team mates fished it to get a feel for the river for the following week. The stretch we fished by Saltford is a deep river and in some places up to about 20ft at 11m's so super deep and heavy rigs was the order of the day. My set up was a 2g pear shaped float for running through for roach and then a heavier rig for holding back in the hope for a slab.
I started off balling it in on 11m with 15 jaffa's put in of a mix of Grandprix match Cypry Spice and brown crumb. These were laced with casters and maggots and the bites were pretty instant with some nice roach coming to the net early on. In the first hour I'd netted around 3-4lb of silvers and was pretty happy with the way the match was progressing until one match changing moment. I'd hooked into a nice roach of around 8oz and was shipping back when my elastic started streaming out.
When I managed to get down to my top 4, I looked down and there was my nice roach locked between the jaws of a pike! After a few prods with the landing net it eventually let go and I had half a roach in the net!
The pike activity got worse and this happened the next 3 fish then all of a sudden the swim went dead. Hardly surprising really when there is a few pike snapping about the place! That was basically the end of the match for me, I sat it out for a bream after that but they never materialised so I ended up with about 4lb. Not the best of days as we'd also had the most horrendous rain storms through the day as well plus some thunder thrown in for good measure!
It was a learning day though and I can go into the league match knowing what to do.
I will update on how we get on next week.
I started off balling it in on 11m with 15 jaffa's put in of a mix of Grandprix match Cypry Spice and brown crumb. These were laced with casters and maggots and the bites were pretty instant with some nice roach coming to the net early on. In the first hour I'd netted around 3-4lb of silvers and was pretty happy with the way the match was progressing until one match changing moment. I'd hooked into a nice roach of around 8oz and was shipping back when my elastic started streaming out.
When I managed to get down to my top 4, I looked down and there was my nice roach locked between the jaws of a pike! After a few prods with the landing net it eventually let go and I had half a roach in the net!
The pike activity got worse and this happened the next 3 fish then all of a sudden the swim went dead. Hardly surprising really when there is a few pike snapping about the place! That was basically the end of the match for me, I sat it out for a bream after that but they never materialised so I ended up with about 4lb. Not the best of days as we'd also had the most horrendous rain storms through the day as well plus some thunder thrown in for good measure!
It was a learning day though and I can go into the league match knowing what to do.
I will update on how we get on next week.
Iffers 3 Day Festival 29th, 30th, 31st July 2011
Day one - Redhill Fishery
I drew peg 14 on Mollys lake on day one of the Iffers AC Summer festival and was a bit disappointed with the draw as it was on the shallow bank. With the lake nearly full I was hoping for a draw at the top end of the lake in around 18, 19 or 20 but it was not to be. I fished a no nonsense approach paste at 8m line and fed a margin swim with corn. I Started well with regular bites but the fish backed off and I spent the last two hours of the match waiting for bites I wasnt a good start and I only managed a measly 16lb which was a very poor start to the festival.
Day two - Lydney Lakes
I was really looking forward to this one as big bream were the target and I set up a method feeder, standard cage feeder and a pole line at 13m as a back up. I was a scorching day which is typically not good for Bream fishing and it was another struggler. The pegs where I drew were like a mill pond and I didn't have a bite on the tip for 4 hours and not even an indication so it was a revert to plan B just to save my sanity. In went some chopped worm and caster and I managed to muster out 4lb of Roach. It wasnt good enough to make any difference though as although I beat the people around me the anglers on the other bank caught the big bream.
Day three - Hartleton Lake
My favorite venue but not a favourable draw saw me infront of the house on peg 13. The signs were not good when due to the amount of plants on my peg it was evident it had not been fished in a good while. I had my mate Andy Prosser to my left however for company so all was not lost!
The bream and skimmers that reside in Hartleton had done another dissapearing act so it was back to the roach I went and caught 102 of them to weigh in 6lb 15oz and a decent enough position in section. Andy had a late run of skimmers on the method to beat me by 4oz and Subby two pegs up beat him by 3oz's so it was a close one. My festival was effectivly over by this day so it was just about having a good days fishing which I did.
Well done to festival winner Sam Prosser (Andy's son) who fished a faultless performance recording 3 out of 3 section wins.
It was a hard few days but very enjoyable ones two with a great bunch of anglers.
I drew peg 14 on Mollys lake on day one of the Iffers AC Summer festival and was a bit disappointed with the draw as it was on the shallow bank. With the lake nearly full I was hoping for a draw at the top end of the lake in around 18, 19 or 20 but it was not to be. I fished a no nonsense approach paste at 8m line and fed a margin swim with corn. I Started well with regular bites but the fish backed off and I spent the last two hours of the match waiting for bites I wasnt a good start and I only managed a measly 16lb which was a very poor start to the festival.
Day two - Lydney Lakes
I was really looking forward to this one as big bream were the target and I set up a method feeder, standard cage feeder and a pole line at 13m as a back up. I was a scorching day which is typically not good for Bream fishing and it was another struggler. The pegs where I drew were like a mill pond and I didn't have a bite on the tip for 4 hours and not even an indication so it was a revert to plan B just to save my sanity. In went some chopped worm and caster and I managed to muster out 4lb of Roach. It wasnt good enough to make any difference though as although I beat the people around me the anglers on the other bank caught the big bream.
Day three - Hartleton Lake
My favorite venue but not a favourable draw saw me infront of the house on peg 13. The signs were not good when due to the amount of plants on my peg it was evident it had not been fished in a good while. I had my mate Andy Prosser to my left however for company so all was not lost!
The bream and skimmers that reside in Hartleton had done another dissapearing act so it was back to the roach I went and caught 102 of them to weigh in 6lb 15oz and a decent enough position in section. Andy had a late run of skimmers on the method to beat me by 4oz and Subby two pegs up beat him by 3oz's so it was a close one. My festival was effectivly over by this day so it was just about having a good days fishing which I did.
Well done to festival winner Sam Prosser (Andy's son) who fished a faultless performance recording 3 out of 3 section wins.
It was a hard few days but very enjoyable ones two with a great bunch of anglers.