Sunday 06-04-2025 - Westerleigh Winter League - Round 7 - Taylor's Pool and Shipp's Canal

My turn on Taylor's Pool. The plan was to fish for silvers as too far behind in the league, but second in the pairs but not sure how far behind first place, likely to be too much. Bri Shanks was away so Steve Rogers stepped in to run the match, which was bit worrying😅

Mark Taylor thought the fish had started to spread out from their winter haunt's and with the wind blowing down the opposite end thought middle to far end would be good for silvers and a few Carp. 

Into the draw bag and found myself on peg 26. Pegs 14, 26 and 22 have been the pegs to draw all winter for Carp. Not really a silvers peg. Lee my pairs partner had drawn flyer peg 2 on Shipp's so silvers plan out of the window, Carp it would be and perhaps pull some weight back and give us chance on the last match.

Two rigs - 4x14 to fish top set plus either three or four barrels which took the end section to just touching the fence. A 0.3 gram RJ slim to fish either three barrel down to the reeds or with a slight depth adjustment down the RH side on the top set.

Pinched some corn off Johnny C started with a piece on the hook over some kindered micro at three barrels and straight away getting indications, thought it was silvers. Switched to 4 mm semi hard pellet and had 20 F1's for 5 lb 6 oz 😆. The line died so tried down to the reeds with LR's on the hook over kindered LR's and a bit of micro and had a small Carp which had a plummet and hook in it mouth (later established to be Ricky Mills rig he lost three weeks ago). Had a few Ronnie's so went back out on the 4 mm pellet and had a small Carp and a decent F1. After trying various other lines and baits everything seem to be dead. So tried the margin on the top set with LR's over LR's and micro and hooked a biggish Carp which fought really hard testing my patients too much causing the hook to pull - bad angling another - careful couple of minutes would have made the difference. The upshot was had four decent Carp, but with 15 minutes to go hooked a branch on the bottom which unsettled the line so no more bites.

Weighed 32 lb 15 oz for third in section 10 oz out of a pick up - note to self must be more patient with the bigger Carp.

The match and Shipp's Canal was won by Ron Hardiman (pictured) from peg 11. Ron caught on meat. Well done matey.

Taylor's Pool was won by Johnny Clarke (pictured) with 43 lb from peg 20. Johnny caught down both margins on meat. Well done matey.

Silver on Taylor's was by default Dave with a lowly 2 lb 3 oz from peg 22 and Taylors it was Martin McMahon with 5 lb 11 oz from peg 1.

Back to the pub and glad I didn't pick up today as a good few more were in attendance, Probably due to the sunny warm weather we're having.

Weigh Sheets:

Thursday 03/04/2025 - Windmill Cost Cutter - Match Lake

Breakfast in the Beefeater, Ok but not the best for the money. Didn't want to walk too far around the lake today as left knee has been playing up also took my chances on not having a short walk. Should have done as ended up on peg 11 the longest walk!! Luckily the slope was dry and not too steep.

The wind was coming in from the NNE so the car park end would have been my choice. But down under the bank on peg 11 was warm being out of the cold wind. The fish are all balled up in the reeds at the moment so having some down to my right and reachable with the margin pole was my preferred line. So set up a 03. gram RJ Slim with 0.2 GLine straight through to a Guru 20 super spade. Also set up the waggler to give me some choice with LR's.

As a reed wobbled decided to started down to the reed with pinched corn over kinder micro and had a fish take it on the drop but missed it. Back out and a proper bite and a hard fighting 1 lb 3 oz Tench in the net. No more indications on corn so switched to kindered LR's and triple reds on the hook and had two quick Carp before it dried, decided to rest it in favour of the waggler fished out in front at 20 metres with double reds over loose fed LR's in the meantime started to loose feed down to the reeds to see if I could entice some more Carp out. Second cast had another Carp. Things were looking good as Glenn Bailey came down at 11 o clock and said he was blanking and I was probably winning the match. Thinking have I got enough nets!! As it turned out I could have gone Home after Glenn left as couldn't get another bite!!

Weighed 15 lb 14 oz for nowhere. On hindsight after catching the Tench should have fished for silvers on the Ronnie rig.

The match was won by Steve  Mundy (pictured with the Silvers winner) with 39 lb 2 oz from peg 8. Steve caught 6 Carp on the straight lead with bread hook bait over to the reeds and 2 Carp on the pole on maggot. Well done matey.

Pete Greenslade picked up the silvers from peg 20 with 5 lb 13 oz. Pete caught on my Ronnie rig set up with maggot and GB. Well done matey got that sorted.

The best part of the day is usually the breakfast or a pick up or the after match curry. However, the best part today was seeing my good friend Glenn Bailey out fishing again and winning his section. Welcome back matey, forget the sections you broke 😉

Weigh Sheets:

Sunday 23/03/2025 - Westerleigh Knock Up - Shipp's Canal

We had an impromptu knock up on Shipp's Canal. Ten of us fishing, so all pegging, pools etc.. as winter league.

Great to see the access road now prepared for tarmacking. 

I couldn't draw peg 13 today as Mike Etheridge just beat me to it. However, only one peg away on peg 1. Bri Shanks struggled for Carp on it last Sunday. This decided me from the start to fish for Silvers and if the Carp were there I could easily change to expander over micro or what ever.

Three rigs - Long and Short Ronnie rigs and a 4x14 Winter to fish three barrels for Skimmers and four barrels towards the aerator in case the Carp showed late on. Didn't bother with the margin bush as Vince Shipp would be fishing there from his regular haunt peg 2!

The up shot was caught a couple of small Hybrids, an 8 oz Skimmer and lots of Ronnie's from 1/2 oz to 4 oz on single LR on the short Ronnie rig. Had a look for a Carp on expander now and again to rest the Ronnie line without a sign. However, did catch two accidental F1's and got beat up by two lumps. GB don't seem to be working at the mo.

Silvers weighed 11 lb 12 oz for the silvers win. The two F1's weighed 4 lb 13 oz so they have really grown on, the fishery seems to be exceptional in this respect.

The match was a close run thing for the top two placings with three 70 lb plus weights. It was Paul Elms (picture with his catch and with the silvers winner) coming out top with 76 lb 14 oz from peg 10. Paul caught long into the bay using meat or pellet. Well done matey.

Runner up was  Vince Shipp (pictured) with 74 lb 8 oz from peg 2. To see how he catches see the other 100 times he's drawn peg 2.

Wish I hadn't left off one layer of clothing as it the wind was bloody freezing. What a dower 8 months its been. 

Weigh Book:

Thursday 20/03/2025 - Over 55's Pairs Silvers League - Final Round - Bitterwell Lake

The final league match today. The fishing has been a hard throughout the three months the league has been running. Most of the time we were all scratching around for ounces. Only been a few double figure weights which only came from the draw bag. That said I think everyone enjoyed it - not one FOE. We have all experienced poor fishing at sometime over the years. Also the silvers fishing has been awful all over the country this winter.

Breakfast in the local Beefeater (where was Kev Winstone?). 

With Paul Issac's away practicing on the Gloucester Canal Martyn McMahon and Tom Baker stepped in to run the match. They were ably assisted by Jaxon who had us running scared with his "Granty converter gun" - pictured.

Drew peg 19 which has been poor of late - quite a deep peg. Between Dave "The ex Drain" Lewis on 18 and Phil Morgan on 20. Arrived at the peg which was under some trees but decided I could side swipe the waggler so set that up, but looking around there was lots of Carp up in the water swimming about in shoals. Then a 4 x 14 Winter to fish 11.5 metres. Wasn't feeling the peg. Fed some GB laced with Pinkie and fed some caster on the waggler line at 20 metres. Dave Lewis had two very quick Tench. My wait was much longer for a 1 1/2 lb Skimmer. Paul Clayton (pictured) on peg had 10 lb before my fist fish from peg 21. Picked up the waggler and first cast had a 7 lb Mirror Carp on double DR. Next cast had a Tench, that was it for the rest of the match - could not get a bite on everything or anywhere tried.

Weighed 3 lb 12 oz for last in section. Think I might have over done the feeding chasing bites.

The match was won by Tony (pictured with his catch) with 30 lb 2 oz from peg 29. Tony caught on double Pinkie over GB and Pinkie with the Skimmers coming at top set plus three and a couple of Tench down his edge on maggot. Well done matey.

Well done to Tony Rixon, Dave  Gillard and reserve Clive Feddery for winning the league. Full final result below.

Back to the Ringer for the result and one of Lucy's Baps - We all wish!

Weigh Sheet:

Final Pairs Result:

Sunday 16/03/2025 - Westerleigh Winter League - Round Six - Taylors Pool and Shipp's Canal

Thought the weather would be more pleasant than it was, cold wind from the North. My turn on Shipp's Canal. This series have only drawn one peg which was 13. So in anticipation of missing it left it late to draw.Two pegs left for me and Bri Shanks who said peg 13 was still in the bag, thought he was joking. Nope yes peg 13 for me again. Unbelievable. At least it caused some amusement.

Got to the peg and again it was going to be a cold one. Set up a 6" Drake bodied waggler, a 4x14 Winter to fish 10 metres in two places, a 0.3 RJ Slim to fish 11.5 metres down the edge to the right, finally the long Ronnie rig - luckily.

Fed the waggler line and had a few chucks on it but both the light and wind made it too difficult. Kindered the 10 metres in front line with maggot and micro and then swung round to the right and fed just micro for 4 mm expander on the hook. Had a quick look on all the lines and caught a Ronnie on every single line including the expander. Looked like the Ronnie's were having a munch. Bri was struggling on peg 1 so decided to fish for the Ronnie's whilst keeping an eye on Bri and if he started to catch I would fish for Carp down the edge where I was loose feeding LR's in case. Had a good couple of hours catching Ronnie's to 3 oz but most were 1 oz or less. The feeding was interesting which for once got right on this peg. Kept having a look down the edge kindering micro and LR's to only catch more Ronnie's, but they were a better stamp but too low catch rate fishing long. As Bri only had a couple of small Carp I saw the match out on the Ronnie rig adding the odd fish.

Weighed 7 lb 4 oz for the silvers win, but as usually goes with silvers wins is poor points - 9 points last but one in section. Free now to concentrate on silvers as out of the league placings due to poor draws.

Taylor's Pool and the match was won Tony Mears (pictured) with 48 lb 7oz from inform peg 14. Tony caught at 13 metres kindering micro fish 4 mm expander on the hook. Well done matey.

Shipp's Canal was won by Marcus Murley (pictured) with 31 lb 8 oz from peg 11. Marcus caught over to the right side island loose feeding maggots with maggot hook bait. His catch included two doubles. Well done matey.

Back to the pub with the usual suspects and a right laugh.

Weigh Sheets:

Thursday 13/03/2025 - Windmill Cost Cutter - Match Lake

Breakfast with Geoff in the Beefeater, Ok too.

Had a walk around, no sign of fish. However, "Leyton's Legacy" was pointed out to me (pictured)

Not been to Windmill for some time, but have kept up with the results. The fish currently appear to be at the car park end. But with a very cold Northly wind blowing up that end will mean a very cold day but with plenty of fish, whereas the opposite end would be well sheltered but didn't expect it to fish. So with having enough of this weather especially the wind I would settle for the sheltered end today and hope some fish were still resident.

Ah, into the draw bag and peg 12 it would be. Lovely shelter peg down under the bank. However, the peg was full of rubbish left by anglers very recently, evidence in the red GB used.

Set up a 0.3 Gram RJ Slim to fish down the left just short of the reeds, would have liked to have fished further down to the reeds but well out of reach of the margin pole, didn't want to risk the Carp pole, no doubt would have battled with both Carp and reeds. A 8 " Drake bodied waggler to fish in the open water as far as I could group the LR's, finally a 4x14 Winter which had been used in a recent silvers match and had a 0.1 hook length which couldn't be assed to change to fish three barrels. 

Started on a 4 mm expender over micro at three barrels, then on to the waggler with double LR's, then on the margin at three barrels, Then set up the feeder. Had some casts around including up to the island. Three hours now gone and not a bite. Decided to see I could catch a silver over the first line with GB and a single LR. Ten minutes later playing a very angry 8 lb Common. Was concerned the 0.1 might break so was playing it very carefully. I kept hearing Dad's voice saying "The longer the fish is in the water the more chance you will loose it". Still finally got it in the net. Immediately changed the hook length to 0.16. Didn't have another bite even opened a tin of corn. Then spied out the corner of the eye a reed move right down in the left corner, followed by a Moorhen going up the bank, so wasn't sure nonetheless shallowed the waggler and fed some LR's. The wind was absolutely perfect which by leaving the line on the water would bow the reel line away from the reeds whilst the under tow would push the float towards the reeds, Second cast had a 7 lb Carp which due to the position of the line pull the fish away from the reeds on the strike. Had another three smaller Carp before the all out.

The five fished weighed 29 lb 2 oz to beat John Smith by 1 oz for the section and 5th overall. Needed one more Carp!

The match was won by Nick Saunders (pictured with the silvers winner) with 56 lb 14 oz from fancied peg 25 in a very cold Northly. Nick caught at 13 metres fishing maggot hook bait over kindered maggot and micro. Well done matey.

The silvers was taken by S Fillingham with 7 lb 1 oz from peg 16. He caught down the middle with maggot over GB and maggot feed. Well done best silvers weight for some time.

Back to the White Harte for a warm up. Bloody weather must be mad.

Weigh Sheets:

Thursday 06/03/2025 - Over 55's Silver's League - Round Five - Landsend Fishery - Specimen and Match Lakes

Penultimate round of the league today at Landsend. The cafe staff worked hard today serving up breakfast for most of us. Very nice.

Hoping to be on Specimen lake. However, ended up on peg 17 on Mach lake also next to Tony Rixon on peg 19 that's every match so far!

From memory peg 17 was one of the popular Carp pegs based on the last results also at the wrong end for the silvers.

Two rigs 4x10 shotted with strung our number 12's and a 4x12 with the logarithmic shotting pattern with 11's. Bait wise it was GB and Pinky and a few casters for down the shelf for Perch in addition two lines one at top set plus one and three barrels. Bit too much of a birdcage for the waggler.

A very cold wind was blowing off the Tealham Moor on my back causing a a ripple from middle to far bank making visibility very difficult.  Red tip was best. Only fed the three barrel line initially with loose GB and Pinkie. First put in a Carp, second another Carp. Refed and after a very long wait caught a Skimmer - and relax 😀. After more Carp caught another Skimmer. At last I was beating Tony only for him to catch a 2 lb Perch down his edge. Which gave me inspiration to try my edge where I had been dripping in casters. First try with single LR the float disappears - unfortunately not a Perch just another Carp which trashed my rig in the tree stump.  Visibility got worse so came on the short line where I had been hand loose feeding Pinkies and had a F1 and more Carp. The last 20 minutes the Ronnie's started to feed and caught five small Ronnie's.

Weighed 3 lb 8 oz for joint second in the section with Paul Barnfield on peg 15 both losing out to a 2 lb Perch. Ten Carp hooked and one decent F1.

The match was won By reserve Pinkie Paul Faiers (pictured) with 12 lb 12 oz from peg 27. Paul caught - yes on Pinkie on three lines all at 14 .5 metres feeding Pinkie and GB. Well done matey, thanks for standing in.

Back to the New Inn with the usual suspects. Kev dropped me off, whilst sorting my kit found some unfamiliar looking boots - certainly not mine - any guesses?

Weigh Sheets:

Pairs Result: Round Five