Thursdays 03/04/08 Bathampton AA Over 55's and Disabled - Bridge Pool

This was the first match in the 2008 series. The series is run by stalwart Colin Golding on behave of Bathampton AA. The match is open to all Bathampton AA members that qualify. The matches are all ran at the Huntstrete Lake complex. However, most matches are on Bridge Pool which has 34 permanent pegs. There is usually a good turn out of 20 plus all year through. The match costs £5 to enter with all monies being paid out, the maximum single payout is £25. Colin tries to pay the top three in the match plus top three Silvers - all receiving £25 to £20 dependant on turn out, so good return on £5 entry.

Today the opening match was on Bridge Pool. Colin had 29 booked in so all but 5 pegs in the hat. Colin starts with the disabled draw , so that anglers can drive directly behind their pegs.

I drew one of my favourite Silvers pegs number 18. I set up three rigs, one for the Skimmers (4mm GOT pellet), one for the Ronnie Roach (caster) and one for the Carp down the right hand margin (where has are all the margin bush cover gone). All of my rigs are made up with 0.18 G-Line (the original blue spool). I just vary the hook length to suit, today I am fishing a 0.14 hook length again original G-Line.

Decided to use ground bait for the Skimmer line and put in three tangerine size balls. Potted 125 ml of micro pellet over my caster Roach line. Fed 4mm hard pellet down the right hand margin (which did not get fished - Swans eat it).

Started on the Skimmer line at 9.5 metres and caught small Skimmers on 4mm soft GOT expander straight off.

Caught most of the match over this line resting between feeding by fishing my cater line which accounted for about 4lb of Ronnies plus one 9lb 2oz Common Carp.

I weighed 16lb 9oz of Silvers for a total weight of 25lb 11oz. This put me 7th in the match and first in the Silvers picking up £25.

Bob "the biscuit" Price (pictured above) won the match with eight Carp for 61lb 14 oz from peg 21 using gellatined dog biscuit fished over pellet. Bob fished about 3 foot from the island opposite.

Full Result:

1. Bob "the buscuit" Price 61-14-0 Peg 21
2. Keith Firks 37-9-0 Peg 30
3. Bob Warren 33-06-0 Peg 29
4. John Bradford 27-12-0 Peg 25
5. Joint Pete "the real" Phillips 27-4-0 Peg 23
5. Joint Pete Powe 27-4-0 Peg 9

Top Silvers:

1. Mike Nicholls 16-09-0 Peg 18
2. John Bradford 8-02-0 Peg 25