Saturday 28/04/2012 - Hillview Open

With Bela crying off from Sunday’s match with “Pensioners Flu”, plus the predicted horrendous weather, this also decided me to miss Sunday and go for Saturday which was promised to be “mainly dry”. I choose to go back to my old haunts – Hillview. So it was into cruise control set at 72 mph from the M32 to the M50, taking 50 minutes – easy drive.

It was a pleasent surprise to find 35 Anglers booked in - excellent for a Saturday; probably all trying to avoid fishing Sunday!


It was nice meeting up with Keith again especially one of his breakfasts. After a chat with Terry King and Terry Homer it was in to the draw bag and out comes peg 5 on Moorhen Lake. It’s not very often the wind blows in to this corner of the Lake, but it was today, coming in to the peg at 2 o clock, which put the ice cold wind in the NNE direction. As luck would have it I had both the Terry’s in my section, TK on peg 8 and TH on peg 2. Nev Groves was behind me on peg 38 and advised that I might catch F1’s down to corner peg 4. I set up a 4x16 Jolly to be fished at 5 metres and 10 metres out in front. A Ronnie rig for the caster, (no more on this as the Silvers on this line didn’t feed adding just one Rudd). A 4x14 Jolly for down to the next peg 4 and a paste rig for the LH margin. I started on the 5 metre line feeding dry micro through the kinder pot. With 3mm expander on the hook I had two Skimmers, two F1’s and a 3lb Carp in the first 5 put-ins. I was emptying it!! I then missed a good few bites which I thought was crafty F1’s, but more likely to be them pecking the shot. I stopped feeding and the bites stopped. The fish weren’t really feeding and from what I could see Stan on peg 6 and Andy on peg 18 were catching shallow – It looked as if the cold rain and wind had chilled the lower water levels pushing the fish up in the water. The way the fish were responding in my swim confirmed this as the fish had moved up intercepting the feed. The wind was starting to pick up and piss me off, so time to try the peg 4 swim, again with 3mm expander over dry micro. I soon had a couple of F1’s and a couple more Skimmers and a lost Carp, followed by a 6lb Carp. As per the 5 metres swim it went dead. I decided to empty my bait bag of casters and maggots in to my LH margin. I then went out on the 10 metre line and as per the other two swims I tried I caught straight away, two F1’s, a Skimmer and a Carp before it repeat the other swims and died – do I need ten swims to catch a weight? In the last ¾ hour I went on the paste for a rest in the margin and hooked five Carp losing three and landing two before the whistle. It was obvious that the Carp had only just arrived in the peg so another hour might have been interesting.

My five Carp, five F1’s and five Skimmers weighed in at 40lb. Although I beat the two Terry’s I didn’t beat peg 5 who I was hoping would get in the frame, but alas not, Stan was one out leaving me coinless and second in section.

 

The match was won by Neville Groves (pictured right with his big Carp catch) from peg 38 on Heron. How Neville caught is a mystery to us all. Perhaps he should explain himself on the Talk Angling Forum?

Hows this for efficient match organisation: Draw 09:30: All-in 10:30: All-out 16:00: All weighed in by 16:45: Results and payout by 16:55: In the car on the way home by 17:00 - Impressive bearing in mind that 35 Anglers fished.

I have really missed fishing Hillview and I have promised myself to get back there soon.

Full Result:

1.      Neville Groves 91-10-0 peg 38

2.      Andy Newton 79-14-0 peg 18

3.      Jake Cork 78-02-0 peg 47

4.      Stan Davis 70-13-0 peg 5

5.      Francis Porter 69-02-0 peg 95

6.      Gabriel Skarba 65-03-0 peg 70

26/04/2012 - Bathampton AA - Over 55's and Disabled - Withy Pool

I must sadly admit that I don’t miss fishing the River Avon these days. I regularly drive over the river on County Bridge on the way to Keynsham and at normal river levels look down stream for signs of the Dace which use to habitat this fast flowing waters with species up to 12 oz, alas no more. However, once the weir is flooded I do get the urge to get the Lobbies out, as it was always a leveller bringing a lot more swims into potential coin. That’s how it was today, but unfortunately out of season.

It was a lonely breakfast at ASDA today as matey Bob Warren couldn’t make it.

A few Coffin Dodgers had cried off due to the weather forecast, but still 20 hardy soles braved the weather. In to the draw bag and out comes floppy ticket with peg 48 on it. Normally a good draw, but it was a peg that was going to be affected by the wind which was blowing side on right to left). The peg normally has to be fished as long as possible. Having deliberated on how long to fish the peg I plumbed for 7 metres. The decision was based on that I could always go longer later if it didn’t produce. However, I was unlikely to pull fish in short if starting long. I started by feeding a pot of 50/50 Caster and wetted micro at 7 metres. With 6 mm expander on the 4x18 Jolly rig.  I got line indications straight away and after 20 minutes landed two consecutive big Skimmers. The swim died so incorrectly I switched to CW&C with worm on the hook. This resulted in a patient 12oz Roach and three Perch. By feeding the worm I completely buggered the swim. I decided to put a big pot of micro in at 11.5 metres and once the wind dropped go over it. However, it wasn’t until the last hour that I tried it with 6mm expander. I was soon getting liners and foul hooked a big Skimmer which came off. Next cast I repeated this misfortune, before I landed four big Skimmers. I did come in short again with worm and foul hooked a Carp which broke my 0.14 hook length. My Silvers weighed in at 18lb 8oz for Silvers third and seventh overall.

The match was won by Alan Jones (pictured right with his five Carp catch) with 47lb from peg 42. Alan caught at 13 metres up the shelf at 13 metres using 6mm meat hook bait fished over potted meat. Alan fed about ¾ on a tin.

The Silvers was won by Andy Smith (pictured lower right with the match winner) with 24lb 12oz from peg 66. Andy caught on the waggler using red maggot hook bait fished over hand fed GB Laced with a few hook bait offerings.

It looks as if we have taken a step backwards in terms of water temperature as second in the Silvers Dave Gillard also caught on the GB and maggot, but this time fished through a feeder – food for thought me thinks.

Full Result:

1.      Alan Jones 47-0-0 peg 42

2.      Harry Muir 46-10-0 peg 73

3.      Terry Bruton 31-10-0 peg 61

4.      Paul Haines 30-09-0 peg 49

5.      Andy Smith 24-12-0 peg 66

6.      Dave Gillard 20-03-0- peg 60

7.      Mike Nicholls 18-08-0 peg 48

Top Silvers:

1.      Andy Smith 24-12-0 peg 66

2.      Dave Gillard 20-03-0 peg 60

3.      Mike Nicholls 18-08-0 peg 48

4.      Mike Jones 13-04-0 peg 46

Sunday 22/04/2012 - Avon Angling Open - Chiltern Trinity - Wildmarsh

Breakfast at the Hilltops Café was superb and as it happened was to be the highlight of mine and Bela’s day.

In to the draw container and out comes peg 22. Excellent, a draw I had been hoping for as it has plenty of Skimmer history, plus it was one of the "pegs on the outside of the Lake".

Arriving at the peg I was immediately concerned about the wind affect. So I set up the biggest float in the box a 4x18 Jolly to be fished as long as I thought possible with the wind strength, 10 metres to be fished over a GB line at 11 o clock. However, my main method was to be paste at the same distance but at 1 o clock. I also set up a Ronnie rig (this only produced four 3oz fish) and a margin paste rig (which produce a couple of speared Motherless). On to the GB line where I had fed seven balls of GB laced with micro, this produced just a couple of Ronnie’s on Maggot. As there was some blowing going on I switched to pellet which produce some more small Ronnie.  So I switched to paste over this line which produced – nothing. I had fed two big pots of micro over the paste line, so out went the paste and first put in I had a 2lb Skimmer. The wind had got up and unfortunately the tow was with the wind and I couldn’t keep the paste on longer that a few seconds. So I went over the line with 6mm expander on the Jolly rig and had two more Skimmers, losing one because of the gusting wind. The wind was ever increasing such that I couldn’t fish the pole any more. Luckily (where nearly) Paul Faiers lent me a feeder rod which produced only s few nibbled soft pellet. My match was clearly over. I packed up early very frustrated at there were fish in the swim but because of the conditions I couldn’t catch them – bugger. My three Skimmers and Ronnie’s weighed in at 7lb 8oz p- for nowhere.

The match was won by Adrian Jefferies (pictured right with his catch) with five Carp for 32lb 14oz from point peg 25. Adrian caught on conventional method feeder with micro pellet and big bunches of red maggot hook bait.

The Silvers was won by 2012 Fish o Mania qualifier Steve Tucker (pictured lower right) with 16lb 10oz from peg 58. Steve caught at 14.5 metres using various baits.

 

Runner up in the Slivers was Paul Faiers (Pictured lower right with his catch of three Tench and Skimmers - when is he going to bring Snow White with him). Paul caught a Tench on the pole using single caster, switching to the feeder with caster and worm hook bait once the wind picked up.

He man of the match was Steve kedge (pictured right playing

his third Carp his top a lot). Steve played three Carp for ½

hour each.

 

 Full Result:

1.      Adrian Jefferies 32-14-0 peg 25

2.      Dean Malin 27-08-0 peg 42

3.      Tony Rixon 26-09-0 peg 30

4.      Steve Kedge 26-02-0 peg 9

5.      Steve Tucker 24-07-0 peg 58

6.      Glen Calvert 23-01-0 peg 6

Top Silvers:

 

1.      Steve Tucker 16-10-0 peg 58

2.      Paul Faiers 16-05-0 peg 20

3.      Tony Rixon 15-0-0 peg 30 

Thursday 19/04/2012 - Viaduct Cost Cutter - Campbell and Carey

I had booked in to Tony’s Landsend match; unfortunately I had to cancel due to family matters, expecting to be down Brighton until Saturday. Fortunately there was a change for the better and we didn’t need to go. So I could get my midweek fix I booked in to the Viaduct Skivers Match.

With the weather being forecast to be horrendous it was good to see 26 booked in (18 more than the Wednesday Open). I walked Campbell with Mike Jones and it was clear that if the pole was to be effective you would need a peg with the wind off your back.  In to the draw coffee tin and luckily enough I pulled peg 128, one above the spit. This draw put the wind over my right shoulder. Nick Collier had fished it the day before and had won the Silvers so this was my target. The dilemma for me was which bait? I decided to fish 4mm meat at 11metres, feeding through the kinder and soft pellet at 5 metres fished over loose fed hard 4’s. It was to be the same rig for both lines – 4x14 Jolly with 0.14 hook length. As the wind was very strong and I should have fished a 4x16 because the wind was lifting the back shot. But I stuck with the rig – as we do! I had a really good first three hours on the Silvers and Greens. I reckon I had 30lb ay half way, but I had lost two Tench and one big Skimmer – happy days, I was thinking of a big Silver weight when it all went tits up – well the Carp muscled in. I tried reducing the little feed I was feeding in hope the Silvers would come back but not. In the next three hours I had just one Tench and 13 Carp. Trying the 5 metre line with pellet produced one 4oz Skimmer and plenty of Ronnie bites. The water is very clear which I suspect kept the fish away from the inside.

My Silvers weighed in at 34lb 13oz and my Carp 62lb 5oz for a total of 97lb 2oz. With this being a qualifier match I was hoping that I would win the Silvers. However, it wasn’t to be finishing second and second overall, how unlucky is that just missing out qualifying for both.

The match was won by Gavin Messer (Pictured right with the Silver winner - surname rings a bell from the past) with 119lb 4oz from peg 125. Gavin caught all his fish on the lead using 10mm meat hook bait fished over loose fed 8mm hard pellet.

The Silvers was won by Nick Collier with 35lb 14oz from peg 99.Nick caught on soft pellet fished over micro pellet.

Full Result:

1.      Gavin Messer 119-04-0 peg 125

2.      Mike Nicholls 97-02-0 peg 128

2.   James Guy 97-02-0 peg 110

3.      Pete Fielding 91-02-0 peg 112

4.      Jim Butcher 81-11-0 peg 132

5.      Paul Blake 73-13-0 peg 86

Top Silvers:

1.      Nick Collier 35-14-0 peg 99

2.      Mike Nicholls 34-13-0 peg 128

3.      John Bradford 24-02-0 peg 97

Sunday 15/04/2012 - Avon Angling Open - Viaduct Fishery - Match Lake and Part of Lodge Lake

After the usual, but late breakfast at the Fountain Café it was off to Viaduct – once I had redirected Bela who for some unknown reason was heading to Landsend!

Although the venue had had the biggest match of the year it, Fish-o-Mania, 130 pegger, Tony Rixon had promised it would fish its head off. We all know Tony is the second best Angler in the South West (but not by much), he is also one of the best match organisers. Irrespective of the venue he knows exactly how to split the pools money, which is very important to keep the interest. With seven pegs on Lodge Lake and fourteen on Match Lake, it was always going to be Lodge Lake that would produce the biggest weight, so Tony split the Lakes into three equally paying sections, plus a Silvers in each section, plus the overall winner.

I was hoping for peg 66 on Lodge, but before I got to the draw coffee tin (not de-cafe) the peg had already been pulled by Paul “Speedy Gonzales” Elmes. Out comes peg 50 on Match Lake.  A good Skimmer peg – happy days. However, I was apprehensive as Match Lake is very sensitive to environmental changes and angling pressure. I was wondering who had fished the peg the day before knowing they had no chance of winning through to the final. After an early frost followed by bright sunshine and a bitter cold wind blowing in to me at 2 o clock the conditions didn’t look conducive. I had Mike “Alsop fables” West on next peg 51 – “You can’t ride two horses with only one ass”, and Trigger “the waggler tree decorator” on peg 49. This meant I had a millionaire on one side that lost his one and only waggler before the whistle and another Angler that lost all his five wagglers before landing his four first fish. Trigger had to wait until the wind blew a waggler back before re setting up – his nick name says it all. I did offer to sell his some at £2 each.

I set up the Silvers waggler (I didn’t expect to catch any fish over 4lb) and after chucking it around it was clear that the wind wasn’t right for it, so it was abandoned early on. I set a 4x14 Jolly instead on the usual 4x12 because of the wind and a 4x14 Stainey (brilliant floats but no so clever if it’s too windy).

I decided on two lines, both to be fished at 13 metres. One line to the right of the drum for the 3mm expander over kindered wetted micro with the Stainey. And a CW&C line to the left of the tree. I started on the pellet and was missing un-missable bites – Ronnie’s. So over the CW&C with the Jolly and it was soon obvious that there were bigger fish here as I was getting liners. I was soon in to my first Skimmer. After which a pattern formed – catch a couple then feed to get them back. I did pull out of a couple and I lost a 3lb Tench in the backside braches (I have a mental note to clear the swim before I start -  I will forget no doubt. The worm lined died so I switched back to the pellet line and wind permitting |I managed to pick off a few more Skimmers and a couple of F1’s. Overall the Lake had fished hard. My Carp (f1’s) weighed in at 2lb 14oz and my Skimmers 22lb 14oz for a grand total of 25lb 12oz, luckily this gave me a section win, a Lake Silvers win and a third overall in the Silvers.

The match was won by Bela Bakos (pictured right with some of his catch) with 129lb from peg 73. Bela initially caught on paste over micro (that’s my boy – I will have him fishing Jolly’s next – he will need to get some glasses first!) and later Bela switched to 8 mm hard pellet all caught at 15 meters down his RH margin.

The Silvers was won by Tony Rixon (pictured lower right with the overall winner) from peg 70 with 38lb 9oz. Tony caught on …see his blog for the hard pellet details!

Full Result:

1.      Bela Bakos 129-0-0 peg 73

2.      Tony Rixon 126-13-0 peg 70

3.      Paul  Elmes 88-02-0 peg 66

4.      Martin Lenaghan 64-13-0 peg 71

5.      Steve Skelton 60-12-0 peg 64

6.      Barry Fitchew 59-03-0 peg 69

Top Silvers:

1.      Tony Rixon 38-09-0 peg  70

2.      Don Sutherland 24-02-0 peg 68

3.      Mike Nicholls 22-14-0 peg 50

Thursday 12/04/2012 - Bathampton AA - Over 55's and Disabled - Bridge Pool

After a flying start breakfast (lets hope we draw a flyer too) at the local ASDA with Bob Warren it was off to the draw arriving in plenty of time at 08-45 an hour before the draw.

With 31 anglers booked in, it wasn’t a question of which pegs to put in but the three to leave out. In hindsight it should have been 23, 20 and 12.

In to the draw bag and the floppy draw tickets and out comes peg 29. Last year the pegs along this bank into the thirties were good draws, however, this year for some unknown reason they haven’t produced yet. That said I am happy with most of the pegs in today (except those mentioned above). For company I had Dave Gillard on peg 30 and Jones “the waggler” on peg 28.

I set up the usual Skimmer, Ronnie and paste margin rigs. The latter not being used as the carp will not come to the margins at present due to the water clarity. I started on the Skimmer rig at 6 metres potting in 50/50 caster and wetted 2.4’s, with 3mm expander on the hook I missed a bite first put in on the drop (this was to set the scene today). After 30 minutes I decided to put in some CW&C on this line and switch to the Ronnie rig with caster. I missed a good few bites before I hooked and landed a 1lb Roach, followed by two more 12oz specimens. That was it except for a couple of 3oz Ronnie’s. Out on the worm and unless I caught on the drop the float would just sit there with no indications. I adjusted the shot to fish on the drop and kept casting around the swim which kept a few Skimmers to 2lb coming but it was very slow. Looking around most Anglers I could see were also struggling. So I kept on this to the end of the match, catching only three Perch on the bottom. With 15 minutes to go I hooked and landed an 8lb 13oz Carp, also on the drop. My Silvers weighed in at 20lb 4oz which was the Lions share of the 29lb 2oz. Luckily this was good enough for 2^nd in the Silvers and third overall.

To say it fished strange today, is an understatement.

The match was won by Bill Ferris (pictured right with his catch - courtesy of Ray Bazeley) with 60lb 13oz from peg 16. Bill had a good few Silvers and five Carp all caught fishing maggot over maggot on his top set.

The Silvers was won by Rich Coles (pictured right with his catch) with an excellent net of Skimmers weighing 36lb from peg 24. Rich caught on maggot over maggot/worm and pellet.

Full Result:

1.      Bill Ferris 60-13-0 peg 16

2.      Rich Coles 36-0-0 peg 24

3.      Mike Nicholls 29-01-0 peg 29

4.      Mike Jones 21-04-0 peg 28

5.      Andy Shields 18-01-0 peg 4

6.      Pete Greenslade 17-12-0 peg 1

Top Silvers:

1.      Rich Coles 36-0-0 peg 24

2.      Mike Nicholls 20-04-0 peg 29

3.      Bill Ferris 15-01-0 peg 16

4.      Bob Feltham 15-0-0 peg 7

Monday 09/04/2012 - Acorn Fishery Bank Holiday Open - Paddocks

Tony Rixon and I were chatting in the shop about how much water a tree consumes, the discussion came about due to the drought in some parts of England and how many of our local Commercial Fisheries fish suffer serious water loss in summer. So I had a quick search of the net and come up with the following surprising information:-

“A large oak tree can draw up to 50 or more gallons of water per day. Some trees use 15 gallons of water per hour on a hot day, and some can draw as much as 150-200 gallons of water on a hot day! The most water demanding is:

Elm
Oak
Poplar
Willow
Silver Maple
Manitoba Maple”

The dry winters are apparently here to stay so droughts are only going to get worse – thought provoking me thinks.

It now seems daft to discuss drought in this blog as we had torrential rain and high winds today from being picked up and to being dropped off. It was my third visit to the fishery and it was good to see that the new trees are planted well back from the Lake. Bela and I decided to have breakfast at the fishery and my litmus as to the quality is Bela – who thought it was spot on – I agreed. I was surprised to see twenty five Anglers turn out especially as the bad weather was forecast.

All I knew about the venue was that peg 5 would be a good draw and either side of one of the three bridges, with the Silvers inhabiting the pegs in the teens. In to the draw bag and out comes a ping-pong ball with 38 on it. Luckily Bela parked more or less behind my peg – Bela wasn’t far away on peg 31. For company I had cider specialist Kev Perry on peg 40 next to a bridge and Lance Tucker on peg 37. Peg 5 was occupied by matey Glen Bailey. Having a chat Mark Broomsgrove and Paul Faiers it was clear that my first choice of catching Silvers was scuppered but I could expect Carp.

I initially set up a 4x14 Jolly to be fished down the track, but switched to a 4x16 due to the wind and depth. I paste rig for down the inside shelf at 4 metres and similarly a paste rig for the LH margin – second shelf. I also set up a Ronnie rig for caster also at 4 metres. Starting at 7 metres down the track kindering some 2.4’s and with 3 mm expander on the hook I had four Carp in the first four put-ins. Because I had kept some feed going in I foul hooked the next four, then caught a few Skimmers 5lb 2oz to be precise before after feeding again I had another couple of Carp. As I had been feeding the margin with hard 4’s I gave it a go with paste and caught nought – I didn’t try it again. So it was now the turn of caster at 4 metres where I had been dripping some in and first put in I hooked a Carp on double caster - no Silvers about then. I started to get liners so tried the paste over the caster and that’s where I stayed for the remainder of the match, picking off the odd Carp, loose feeding a few micros and caster combo. Unfortunately I did lose more than my fair share through either pulling too hard (the fish that is) or foul hookers. There is also a snag at 10 clock just up the shelf at 4 metres where I lost two Carp and one very important one on the whistle! My total with the few Skimmers weighed 84lb 6oz for third overall with any one of those lost fish elevating my to second spot. 

The match was won by Glenn Bailey (pictured right with the Silvers winner) with 120lb 10oz from peg 5. Glenn caught 50% on hard banded 6mm pellet kinder potting the same size pellet down the far shelf and the remainder at 7 metres on paste (apparently Glenn has eyes in the back of his head as he said he spotted me using paste so gave it a try) again kinder potting hard 6’s.

The Silvers was won by Steve Mayo from peg 15 with 42lb 14oz of Skimmers. Steve caught on soft pellet over similar down the far shelf and some in his margin using caster over caster.

Full Result:

1.      Glenn Bailey 120-10-0 peg 5

2.      Des Shipp 85-12-0 peg 21

3.      Mike Nicholls 84-06-0 peg 38

4.      Rich Healey 80-14-0 peg 6

5.      Kev Perry 79-04-0 peg 40

6.      Lance Tucker 69-09-0 peg 39

Top Silvers:

1.      Steve Mayo 42-04-0 peg 15

2.      Mark Bartlett 35-04-0 peg 1

3.      Paul Faiers 17-08-0 peg 30 

Sunday 01/04/2012 - Bathampton AA Open Match - Bridge Pool

The 1^st of April and the weather lady promised us 12 degrees, so I put on my Thermal boots and ended up with soaking wet feet due to the sweat, got it wrong again as we had wall to wall sunshine for the ninth consecutive day. Today was the first of only two open BAA matches on Bridge Pool for 2012. Personally I would like to see more – perhaps a “George Crookes” Open (I would love to have my name on this trophy) and perhaps a “Dave Crookes” Open!

After a breakfast at The Fountain Café with matey Bela, it was off to the venue to meet eldest son Steve who I managed to get out fishing again based on it being local. I was hoping for a peg with Scales written on it – pegs 18 and 17. Alas out comes peg 9 on the disabled platform – so expect a dead knee before the match ended. However, the family didn’t miss out on a flyer as Steve drew peg 18. Bela drew peg 6 a good 16 metre over th island peg which would suit his style – well brawn.

Peg 9 is next to a very good Skimmer peg number eight and with Steve Dawson on it and on next “available” peg 11 was matey Darren Gillman – so I was up against it.

The water was still clearish. I had put this down to the surface water being heated up over the last eight days, with the fish not feeding on the bottom, hence not disrupting the silt. So I decided I would start shallow with my Ronnie caster rig after feeding a pot of 50/50 caster and 2.4’s wetted pellet at 10 metres. On the caster I had a 1 ½ lb Hybrid first put in followed by a few small Ronnie’s before the shied away. So out on the 3 mm soft pellet and it was near repeat of Thursday with the small Skimmers nicking the pellet making the fishing very slow albeit hectic! So I decided to try the CW&C, chopping up five Dendrabena, topping up the cup with caster, hoping I didn’t completely bugger the swim. This did help although I had to wait for a fish they were of a much better stamp. However, I was concerned about the large dark shadows swimming around my float. This was preceded by a very difficult mid match hour, until the Skimmers came back. But with an 1 ½ hours left I had a number of iffy bites until I struck in to a Carp three foot off bottom which decided it would “fly” like a Skimmer. It was foul hooked in the tail and took me twenty minutes to scoop it in to the landing net. It was a Common Carp which weighed 15lb 8oz. It then took until the last 15 minutes to get the Skimmers back - far too late. My Skimmers weighed in at 26lb and when added to the sole “jammy” Carp added up to 41lb 8oz for second in the Silvers and fifth overall. I fed about twenty worms and ¾ pint of caster and 1 ¼ pint of wetted 2.4’s throughout the match.

What more can you ask for dead calm, wall to wall sunshine and fishing one of the best fisheries in the South West.

The match was won by Terry Bruton (pictured right – picture courtesy of Ray Bazeley) from peg 21 with 89lb 2oz. Terry initially tried for the Skimmers by the swim soon died so he went for the carp over to the opposite island with heir rigged 8 mm pellet loose feeding s few over the top of his initial feed of a full pot of 8’s. Terry landed nine doubles with two coming from his LH margin.

I have to mention son Steve (pictured right – picture courtesy of Ray Bazeley) who was runner up with 76lb 5oz – losing eight! – Room for improvement.

The Silvers was won by Match Organised Kevin Dicks (pictured right) with one of the best weights of recent times 36lb 12oz from fancied (for Carp) peg 16. Kevin caught short on caster and worm.

Full Result:

1.      Terry Bruton 89-02-0 peg 21

2.      Steve Nicholls 76-05-0 peg 18

3.      Bela Bakos 53-08-0 peg 6

4.      Dave Micklewright 46-0-0 peg 17

5.      Mike Nicholls 41-08-0 peg 9

6.      Kevin Dicks 36-12-0 peg 16

Top Silvers:

1.      Kevin Dicks 36-12-0 peg 16

2.      Mike Nicholls 26-0-0 peg 9

3.      Mike Jones 19-12-0 peg 32